Eff My Life
by Yami Dragoness
Summary: These women loved working, hated hiking, loved the internet, hated anything physical, loved to party, so what the heck are they doing in Middle-Earth? Totally not their fault though. Big powerful beings called them. Don't think they're gonna be quiet about it. One is practically screwed and the other has better luck. Rated T/M for swearing! Little book/mainly movieverse. Enjoy!
1. Pilot

Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing of LOTR whatsoever! So I guess I own Elena and Layla/Lacey. Why not? They were nowhere seen in the originals. =P

Summary: Two girls from Earth fall into Arda in the country of Middle-Earth. There is a catch. Not only will the fellowship have to worry about the War of the Ring, but to make sure that the balance of Arda will be kept safe. The Eru has chosen its representative to mind the fellowship, while energy that is left in Sauron belonging to Morgoth, has chosen a host that will be useful when the time has come. Did I mention these girls have no survival skills? I will try to make this as unMary-Sue-ish as possible. Bear with me. **This is completely for fun and for enjoyment.**

I will tell you now. It will be Legolas/OC and Haldir/OC.

I'm sticking to movie based plot and a little bit of the books' timeline.

**WARNING:** There will be curse words in this fic that will borderline T-M. I have not rated it M, because there is no nudity, but I am warning you that there is strong use of vulgar language and possibly minor sex jokes. **This is completely for fun and for enjoyment.** DON'T READ IF YOU DON'T LIKE VULGAR LANGUAGE. This fic contains may contain all kinds of humor from dark humer, sex, race, sexuality, sensuality, etc. If you want to compare humor, think of just regular television shows every day, but rated TV-14.

I ONLY DO POV. To me, it's more fun that way. If you see many fragments, tough. It's conversational style. **DO NOT FLAME** for semantics or grammar errors. If you would like to assist me in punctuation regulations, please PM me a site. I haven't written in a while and I'm extremely rusty. Also, I DO NOT HAVE A BETA. This makes sense of it without having to correct it. PM me with anything regarding if you need more background story.

If you are to review, tell me what you think of the story, that if you dig it, or not your taste. If you don't like it, don't be an asshole about it. ;]

This is the slowest intro chapter I have ever typed. Sorry! Get to know the girls in the mean time. I'll update sometime this week. =]

I hope you enjoy Eff My Life! :D

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Chapter 1: Pilot

"Elena! Schedule me a first class flight to India and don't forget to put it in my agenda that I have a meeting with Mr. Kutherpoli in New Dehli at 10:00am! Make sure to check on the catering deals around the area too. I want the itinerary on my desk no later than Monday!"

Standing in this man's office, telling me I have two things to basically do right away when he wants it on Monday? Yeah right, Sucka. I got that shit done all for ya.

"One step ahead of you, ! I already scheduled the meeting with for you in two weeks time. Mr. Kutherpoli is mentioning that he is also bringing his friend in as well to review the materials at hand. I have scheduled Mr. Xavier to accompany you, which is the best time for the four of you to attend this meeting." As I was saying this, I had already received the emails earlier from the necessary parties that everyone will be participating and have gotten everyone's itineraries. Click and printing on my desk now. Gotta love my tablet and the internet.

"Why is Mr. Xavier coming?" My boss looks at me as if I just did something unnecessary… bitch don't gimmie that look.

"Sir, the friend that is accompanying Mr. Kutherpoli is his lawyer, a very powerful lawyer. You will need one as well to accompany you in case the situation arises. I know this is only contract talk, but it's best to take precautionary measures and his advice has always been helpful to you and our company."

The dolt just looks at me as if I just read him his fortune and I say this in all kindness. He's actually a really cool boss. This is what I do best though.

I'm a secretary to the chief executive officer of a technology company.

You could almost say I'm a master administrative assistant extraordinaire.

"And why is my meeting until two weeks time? I should be doing these talks as soon as possible. We got the deal a month ago!" He really thinks this?

"Sir you must be all over the place. We had the deal set only just last week. They are still going through the drafts of the contract and we still need time to make another draft of the agreement to bring with you to India." This guy sometimes loses it… no wait… usually loses it.

He stops shuffling on his desk looking through papers through whatever he was looking for and looks at me through his big bifocals and fixes his comb over hair.

"Damn Elena. You really got a great handle on this."

"Sir, I'm here to sweat the small stuff for you here. You handle all the big league stuff. I don't think I can take that kind of pressure of making all the decisions."

"Hey, you must make so many decisions too, and not to mention, you can handle a lot of pressure." Damn, he hasn't said anything like that before since I started.

"Thank you. Oh and by the way, before I send you off for home for the weekend. Why so far? I mean the date to go to India?" What would he do without me…

I do a few touch maneuvers on my tablet and bring up my boss' calendar and show him. "That's because you have your 27th wedding anniversary with your wife, your son's soccer team match, and your daughter's recital. Plus I think you can use the R and R time to spend with your family as you make the final arrangements with Mr. Xavier for the second draft of the contract."

"What would I do without you Elena? I would be ridiculously overwhelmed with everything. Plus my last secretary couldn't do half the things you do to help me out."

"Sir, it's never a burden to help you out. This is why you hired me."I smiled so I decided to try to make him chuckle as I peer my head to the side of my tablet while I was outstretching my arms holding it.

He laughs.

Success.

"Well, then, go ahead a take a week off. You haven't asked for vacation time all year, and I don't think I have anything else for you to do. I'll probably take the week off myself. So you are on vacation. By force."

My eyes go wide with anticipation at the sense of forced freedom…

Damn now I gotta plan shit to do for myself.

"Thank you, Sir! Seriously, I really do appreciate this vacation. I'll be back to work on the Monday after that then!" I have a giant grin on my smile. I must look pretty stupid… a woman with a giant smile while trying to hold a professional attitude.

"Now go on. You're dismissed and I'll see you the Monday after next. Don't go too crazy now. You only have a week off!" He points to me from his chair and goes back to his computer.

"Sir, I'm better than that. I'm going to catch up with some family and friends." I head towards the door leaving the click sounds of my high heels behind. "See you then! Have fun in India." I open and leave his office.

I head over walking with a professional appearance. It's the end of the day and the other secretaries have already gone home. I look to my left, to my right… I look up and behind me…

I jog over to my desk letting out a "HA" as I hear my little clicks of my high heels and when I sit on my chair and spin around in it.

I enjoy working with Mr. Sonaltus, but damn. I totally need a day off myself.

I take of my jacket, let down my hair from my hair bun and let it cascade down to the middle of my back. One of the few things about my hair that my boss doesn't know about yet is that it has some blue streaks under the surface. Gotta love camouflage! Business up top and party on the bottom, though sometimes, being up top is great fun too. I snicker aloud. I grab my smartphone and quickly dial a number. As it rings I'm gathering the itineraries in a neat little pile and leaving it nicely stacked next to my monitor. After that I stick my tablet in my purse.

"Hello?"

"Yo, Lacey bitch! Whuddup, Hoe?" I lean my head into the phone to keep it steady on my shoulder. I'm writing out little sticky notes to myself for when I come back from my vacay.

"Yo! Sup Elehbitch?"

"Hear me out. Boss-man said I got the week off because I have been uh-mazing! So I'm off early today. I'm gonna head out to your place, let's pre-game while getting dressed, then head over to Rage Cage?" I'm so in the mood to hit the rave. I swear.

"Fuck yeah. Sounds like a plan. When you planning to be here?"

"I'm just gonna do some last minute notes to myself and for my boss then lock up a little bit here since my he's hanging back for a little longer. I should be there in twenty."

"Alright, holla at me when you're here. I'll buzz you in."

"Fo'sho. Later Gator." I quickly hang up my phone and got my purse. I stood up and got my stuff at the ready and headed toward the elevator.

Ha. A little secret about myself, I feel a little bit of a badass hearing my Chinese Laundry heels clicking away while I'm in my business pant suit.

Twenty-eight years old and its work during the week and party on a Friday night. Me and my buddy like to keep it real on the weekends, but we tend to get pretty wild on Friday nights.

I finally get to the elevator. I press the button and the doors quickly open and quickly walk inside and press the button for the underground parking garage level. Yes. I'd like to get out of the building as soon as possible. I do love my job, and I like Mr. Sonultas, but like the 80% of people's work life I bet, you cannot be your full self. I'm trippin' most of the time, but I gotta hide it at work because I'm a professional now. No more dilly dallying too much. I'm just happy I don't have to bring my work home.

I lean back into the wall of the elevator, close my eyes and take a deep breath. What a week. Lots of dictation typing from my boss, typing up correspondences, confirming and creating appointments, checking in with his family so that my boss doesn't book something on important days, keeping up with stocks, etcetera… etcetera…

Just need to take a moment of peace… just a little moment… of quiet. I pay attention to my breathing rhythms and let out my breath …

_Come to me…_

"Huh? Duh fuck?" I open one eye and then both. I'm just hearing things… and I 'snuggle' back into the wall.

_Come to me, Elena…_

"Okay I heard it this time. Who is this?" and that's when the elevator just stopped at my requested floor.

The doors open and I slowly walk out of the doors and look around while heading over to my car. Okay, nothing around, not even people, and this is good. I open the doors to my Civic and shove everything in the passenger seat. Turn on the car and I proceed to make my way to the exit.

Alright, nothing happened. I'm just going crazy.

I knew I shouldn't have marathoned three days back to back Lord of the Rings. I'm turning into a weirdo idiot. I thought I heard Sauron's stupid fireball voice in that elevator. But I've just gone batshit.

After about twenty minutes, I had arrived to Lacey's apartment. I hate calling her Lacey. I prefer her real name Layla. It's pretty and sophisticated, which she currently isn't right now… she's in a rock'n'roll phase right now. Ha. I wouldn't want to say, Laylabitch anyway… Layla is too pretty to mess up that way.

I called her through the apartment complex's intercom and she let me in. I go up the elevator to the seventh floor, and then I heard it again…

_Elena. I see you…_

"No you don't." Right, never marathon LOTR again. I actually say the acronym as a word. Low-ter. Haha. I really am batshit.

I come out of the chamber as it stops at my requested level and approach her door. I knock a few times to get a rhythm going and stop and she finishes the rest and swiftly opens the door.

"You are late." I see Lacey with only wearing a white long t-shirt, but her really pink and blonde streaked hair was already in waves. I can see she has prepared her black lining of her eyes and her red-pinkish eyeshadow and light blush on her cheeks. Yup, she just has to get dressed and then it is my turn in her bathroom.

"Just because it took one more minute to get to your door from the entrance way… it doesn't count!" I chuckle and push her aside and flop on her couch. "Hurry up and get dressed. I can pre-game in the mean time." I reach over to her coffee table and poured myself a shot of tequila that was left on it.

"Fine, I've already pre-gamed enough anyway. Feelin' the buzz up in me and on me! Woo!" She does a little dance to joke that she already is feeling the burn in her loins. Ah to be young and joking around of sluttyness.

"Alright, have fun. Got my stupid 'wedding underwear' as you like to call it laid out for me in the bathroom. I'll be out when I need you to tie me up." She walks down passing me and into her bathroom, but leaves her door open.

"That's because it is! Dude, you're wearing a white corset, a matching garter belt with thigh high stockings strapped to it, some white stripper heels, and your froo froo raver panties!" Jesus, you think it was going to be a kinky honeymoon she was going to.

I took another shot of tequila.

I breathe in as it burns down my throat and then I proceed to grab a beer from the table and take a swig.

"Whatever! At least I dress this way to have fun! We never get to do this anymore like in our younger days of freedom." She shouts from her bathroom.

Which is true. In our early twenties, we had hit up many raves and live shows. We went to foam parties that were just amazing during the summers and even hit up Las Vegas a couple of times to see the amazing DJs like Afrojack, Calvin Harris, David Guetta, Diplo, and more. Love'em. The genre of music can send your mind into new heights on how you view things and that's without drugs. You gotta love this music to see what I mean. Dubstep grew on me and I love it, depending who does it of course. But we can't give up this lifestyle completely. It's just not in our nature.

I take another swig of my beer. Yup that feels awesome.

I lay back into my buddy's pleather couch and just close my eyes for a while.

_My Demon…_ A flamed cat-eye appeared when I had my eyes shut.

"Whoa! Fuck! What was that?!" No fucking way. I'm completely batshit. I've lost my mind.

"What happened?!" Lacey came out of the bathroom all ready to go. I heard her heels clacking from her hallway towards me.

"Nothing… I think. I'm good. I'm just a little batshit right now. Fucking call me crazy, but I saw the Eye of Sauron." I was sitting up straight from where I was and I was breathing quickly and I turned to her.

"You have got to be kidding me. I've seen those movies and they are JUST SO LONG! The books were better anyway." She smirked at me after she scoffed off my panic. "And I will call you crazy from now on. Anyway, I'm all set. Hurry up and get ready so you can tie me up from the back.

I shake my head to wear off the shock of seeing something so stupid. "Yeah, I'm not going to marathon that right before I go to sleep. I think it's really messing with me." I get up from my seat and head over to the bathroom. I look at the floor and I see my little nap sack of my clothes. When I think about it, I think my clothes could be just as worse as hers, just in a different style.

I pull out my black corset that had teal ruffle seam lines around it curving around the bone sticks and around the breast area. And instead of my counterpart who is wearing panties and a thigh highs, I decided to just wear a mid thigh pleated skirt that has a silver chain attached to it from one end of the skirt to the other. I brought random "candy" bracelets (they mainly banned real candy bracelets because people smuggled drugs in that way, so they're just regular beaded bracelets), and glow bracelets and gold arm bands. I found my comfy cool running shoes and my faux big furry leg warmers. Yup… I'm a raver deep down inside and on the outside I'm a professional.

I'm as different as Night and Day.

I fix my make up in blue and black smoky eyes and I play with my eyeliner to the side of my eyes instead of on my lower eyelids. Nice little Cleopatra design.

I get dressed and come out. I'm decked out and ready to go. We chat about work as she is another fellow administrative assistant to a doctor and we compare our bosses on how much they miss out on the little things and we exchange laughter. I tie up her white corset from the back as she takes a bottle of beer from the six-pack she had on her coffee table. After I was done with her, she ties up mine from the back and I take another shot.

Three shots and a beer, I'm good to go. My hair is up so you can see my bright blue teal streaks under my hair and it's in waves.

Oh yeah we got this. We examine each other and give ourselves compliments until we hear Lacey's phone do some beep beep sounds. She walks over to her phone and presses some buttons. She gets excited and grabs her smartphone, mp3 player, and wallet and sticks it into her mini purse. That means I do the same and we both shout. "Steven's here!"

We rush out of the building as fast as we can. I never know how Lacey does it in those towering shoes, but as she always says, it's a skill. We hop into our friend's car, already playing some music that we are looking forward to with his player, and proceed to our temporary heaven of an all night show.

Time to bob our bodies to the amazing, freeing, magical sounds of our fave DJs… of course the light shows help a lot too.

* * *

It's only 3:00am… IT'S ONLY 3AM!

And Lacey and I are exhausted… I guess we are getting older in a way.

We used to be able to do this all night… thank God it's Friday… well Saturday now.

We escape the crowd and ignore the friendlier potheads that say, "Let's hang out… by that island ship." We just say, "No time! Gotta head into space!" Which just translates to, "Wanna meet at the hill?" "No, we're gonna step outside the event for some air." Sure the event is outside, but being surrounded by hundreds of dancing, jumping, and cramped bodies can even make the coldest of nights into a sauna. We fan ourselves by the fences of the exit area.

"Dude, I don't think we can keep going like we used to anymore." Lacey turns to me with a tired look.

"Ha, I'm feeling it too. I guess since we have a lot more on our plate nowadays with work, taking care of our parents, seeing our nieces and nephews, and work and work and work-"

"Oh and did you remember to mention work?" She cuts me off, but it's true. We're sort of workaholics. We're the type of people that actually are fulfilled by being the support system rather being leader. We see it as even the leader needs help and if we can help some people behind closed doors, we can try it too. We enjoy what we do.

"I wish we could just go home right now. I hate being sweaty, plus I want to hit up Banana Republic for a suit sale they're going to have, and I want a new pair of Jimmy Choos." Oh yes, besides working, we like to shop, on the high brand stuff, but not all the time… That's why we wait for sales.

"Nice. You know what? my buzz is down from all the sweating and drinking water. I can drive home. I am completely sober." Lacey turns to me. We never drink at the raves, that's why we pre-game.

"Cool, because I have Steven's keys. He is so wasted, and I think a girl convinced him to go home with her. He's such a slut!" We just laugh. Always the double standard that men can sleep around and call it awesome and when the women do it, she's a total dirty slut. Oh well. I toss her the keys and we exit the rave. We did have an amazing time.

We walk to Steven's car which is in a parking garage. Some security guards nod to us and watch over us. I know they won't do anything, they see events in this area all the time. As we are walking, Lacey actually says something I didn't think would come out of her mouth.

"Don't you wish we could just escape the realities?"

"Say what?" I stopped walking and so did she. "Are you planning to kill yourself or something?" I raise an eyebrow. Okay, not the best thing to ask if you suspect suicide, but I lack tack.

She sighs and hasn't turned around yet. "No!" and she turns to me. "It's stupid. But sometimes, I wish we just had more you know? I just feel so restricted. It's weird. I'm happy with my life. I really am. I'm single, I have a great job, I love my family my friends, I can buy things I like, still go out and party, and go on vacations, but I feel so damn dull and or empty. I don't even know how to explain this feeling." I guess she's been thinking about this for a while because I haven't heard her speak this seriously since her cat, Joker died. That cat was almost like a son to her.

"Listen, I'm in the same boat as you, but I think you're lacking ambition now or passion. I have all those same feelings as you that I appreciate everything that I have. We can't have those feelings right now because life is short. Maybe we can do some volunteer work. We can meet new people and help somebody out. Since maybe, uh… we're at that point in our lives that we're comfortable and satisfied that maybe it's about time to pay it forward." I walk over to her and put my hands on her shoulder.

"You'll try it with me?" She asks me with some glossiness I her eyes. She can be a wee bit emotional at times.

"Why not? I may not have the same empty feeling as you, but I want to help you out. Plus, it would be cool to help someone out anyway. We used to do it in high school for extra credit, so why not do it because we want to, and it will give us extra good karma points." I chuckle.

She smiles and jumps up and down then hugs me. "Awww thanks! You're the best."

"I know. I have to be because life is short, and because it is, we must live life to the fullest." I pull away and smile at her. She nods to me and we start up walking again.

_"Come to me…"_

I stop in my tracks again and I whip my head and look around the bright parking garage.

"What was that?" Lacey asked.

"You heard it this time?" I stare at her wide eyed.

"Yeah Dude. This is creepy. Maybe it was someone else." She grabs onto my arm and we walk faster to the car. We make a right turn and we see our friend's car.

_"Come to me Elena…"_

"Bail to the car!" Lacey shouted and we run to the car. I had the keys in my hand and I press the button on the key to unlock the car. "Get in!" I shout. I'm passenger seat and Lacey is in the driver's seat. I quickly put the key in the ignition for her and we're just screaming and yelling.

"Quick! Go go go go!" I yell. "I'm going! I'm going!" She turns on the car and she quickly backs out of the spot puts the car into drive. "This stalker is not getting you, Dude! This motherfucker should leave us alone and die!" And she puts the pedal to the metal!

"_Layla, you are to be summoned to Arda." _

"Jesus I'm getting stalked too? Does your stalker and mine live together now?!" She makes a turn! "Just shut up and drive!" Then the parking garage's lights all went out.

We were in complete darkness!

"Shit shit shit SHIT!" She turns on the headlights, but we still couldn't see anything. She then turns on the highbeams of the vehicle.

"FUCK! What the shit is going on?! Jesus Christ! Keep driving! Keep driving!" I yelled out of fear. "Where are all the cars!? Walls?! Where is the road!?" Lacey and I were fucking scared and everything was black.

"Just keep moving!" We're screaming our heads off. I keep looking forward and I don't even know if we're moving anymore and then the car turns off by itself.

"No no no no no no no no! Not now! Please! Not now!" She tries to turn it on and bangs the dashboard. "You piece of shit! Oh my God this cannot be happening!"

"God damn it! Fuck this shit!" Then the car starts to collapse on itself. "Whoa! AHHHH!" We panic and get out of the car immediately as we continue to see the car crush itself and then it flings itself far away into the darkness at such speeds.

"Who are you!? Screw it, just leave us alone! We want to go home!" We embrace each other tightly afraid that we might suffer the same fate as our poor friend's car.

"Just let us go home please!" Lacey screams in emotional fright and holds me tighter. I bring her into my embrace as tight as I could and then I see a red light from a far and it gets bigger and brighter.

"_Come Elena. I have chosen you to finish what my lieutenant has started."_

_"Elena, join me and we shall rule Middle-Earth- all of Arda as one!"_

"Stay away! I want to go home! I don't want to do anything with you! I don't even know who you are!"

"_Layla. Join us to defeat this evil once and for all. The fate of Arda rests in your hands." _A more kindly voice sounded this time compared to that deep, whispered rasp of a voice.

"No! I want to go home to my family! Let us go!" She shouted. We don't want anything to do with crap!

Soon behind Lacey, a white light began to appear… growing in size and in illumination.

"Oh God. Someone gave us ecstasy in our drinks when we ordered them and we are just losing our minds! I will only pre-game and never drink a soda at a rave again! I will always keep an eye on the person who will give us a drink at the snack bar." Lacey was saying to herself.

"Yup, we're just trippin' balls. I'm probably so fucking high from everyone else smoking weed, that this is the worse high ever. We're actually sleeping in the car and this is all bad dream!" I shut my eyes and I just keep holding Lacey, and we are fully embracing each other now with our eyes shut not wanting to let us go.

Then a force pulls us away from each other. I see our distance between each other growing further and further apart. We're screaming to each other as I see her being pulled into the white light.

"ELENA! ELENAAAAAA!" Even though it is helpless, our hands try desparately to reach out to each other.

The last I see her is she is being enveloped in a white light. I couldn't help but relax a little. But she is terrified for me. I am forced to turn around and I see that flamed cat-eye that is enormous in size.

"Who are you!?" I shout. I feel a mild heat and use my hand to block out the light that affects my eyes.

"_You know who I am."_

It cannot be though. It's fictitious! "You're not real! You're not real!" That's all I could scream out.

_"Come forth Elena, MY DEMON OF DESTRUCTION!"_

The force has taken me into the slit pupil of its eye and I feel the heat growing stronger. All I could do was scream, see a tiny white light, and then it all went black.


	2. I Dropped In

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to LOTR. Get off my back.

I still don't use a beta. I just finished this and I want to start the next chapter already… I tried to read it over, so ya, hopefully all of this will make sense.

Next chapter may seem like a "time jump" or whatever, but there will be flashbacks. Seems easier for me to write it out this way. Took me forever with this one lol.

Hope you enjoy. Please read and review… PLEASE REVIEW! If anything… review… authors love reviews… you know that saying.

"I gave that bitch a review… bitches love reviews!" Er… replace bitch/bitches with author/authors? Bahahaha yeah I'm a little batshit…

On with the story! Sorry if it's really descriptive and OOC. :P

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Chapter 2: I Dropped In…

I hover my hand over the palantir. I sense a great rip of reality on the top of the Orthanc.

_My vessel… it is coming and incomplete. She will accept her fate that of an elf. She must be immortal and I will grant her that. She clings to her mortality._

It's as though she is with Gandalf the Grey my Lord.

_Guided by Eru she has. The Creator must have spoken to the order of The Valor and they are against me as well. No matter, I will rule all. Arda's balance will tilt according to my will._

The power of Isengard is at your command, Sauron Lord of the Earth.

_Build me an army worthy of Mordor._

* * *

I have been imprisoned high up top of my now so-called leader, friend, and mentor of my order. I believe the date is now sometime in mid September. I lay huddled during the rain storm against one of the Orthanc's high sharpen sides. How could I have not detected any energies, differences in behavior, anything at all that Saruman had betrayed the good of Middle-Earth. Perhaps I'm reaching a certain age where I am losing my senses.

I had to laugh to myself. I'm over 2,000 years old and until now? Of course not. I'd be a fool to think this way. After all, at this point in time, Saruman is still more powerful than I and perhaps in the stealth in his speech that could not be foretold to me only by the day he took action upon me when I had refused him and his allegiance to the Dark Lord.

So long I have been trapped here, and without my staff, I cannot do much until my summons of the eagle arrives to my aid. This has been a very unpleasant stay here in Isengard, and I do not recommend it to others. Such terrible lodging, no one to attend to your needs, the smell is uncanny, and last but not least, it is almost null to escape it.

No matter. Over hearing all of Saruman's plans, he is creating an army large enough to cover hills and fields black. It is obvious since practically the very green luscious state that Isengard was in is now the colors of death and despair. This is going to take some time to delve a plan as I wait.

I whip my head straight up from the shielding of my robe.

What is that? I stand up and look from all around my small platform. A sensation giving a tingle to my Istarian senses. I walk around pacing looking all around me. The storm is becoming fiercer, becoming harder to see out from beyond the land of Isengard. Then I feel a concentrated force in the center of the Orthanc.

Slowly, but surely, a flamed sphere appears in the middle of the Orthanc platform. Its light shines brightly and continues to burn.

"Ugh!" I feel such evil power that it pains me in my chest. I start to kneel and staying off the ground, I must be on all fours.

Then the pain stopped and I felt as if nothing happened.

Never taking my eyes off from the flamed sphere, it has now turned white. A small brilliant white illumination had shown before me. That sphere of white light appeared to be of a calm aura and it had hovered. I dared to crawl forward with this new appearance and the sphere had proceeded to lower itself and touch the ground.

The rain became lighter to that of a sprinkle.

How very peculiar… as it hit the ground, it is turning into colors that are red, orange, and white. Not so much as just moving, but it seemed worse, as if they were at war.

I began to reach out to see if it would react. And I had the same reaction as when I had first wanted to reach out and pick up the One Ring off Frodo's floor in his house back at the shire.

For a very brief moment, I had seen the Eye of Sauron.

I had retracted my hand back into me, and the sphere had kept the shine of white. It had spread as a sheet as if it were a covering that had spread out. I started to see the shape of a body.

Slowly, the light began to fade.

I come closer to it. Is it Man? Elf? Too tall to be a dwarf or a hobbit.

It is a female! A female with so many injuries! I quickly take note of her appearance. Her clothing seemed to be burned and her skin as well. I see some blood, but I don't know from where.

I quickly rush over to her and I hear a noise and I pause. She is still alive!

I get up from where I am and rush around her to see her face.

She looks so young. Who is she?

"Child, who are you? How did you come upon the Orthanc?" My first words were to her.

Where in Arda does this young woman hail from?

All she does is groan in pain. She tries to use her arms to push herself up, but she falls back down, but I catch her in time before she hits the floor by force. She struggles in my arms, but is too weak to do anything.

"You are safe. Do not fear me, Child." She seems to have stopped moving and groaned again.

She allows me to turn her head to a side. I see she has been crying very much, and so much stress has been on her face. She bears scratches and facial paint that is bleeding off her eyes. She has minor burns on her neck. My eyes trail down and I notice she is wearing a revealing tight corset that has been ruined. The back has been burned off and I take notice of what is on her skin.

A pair of folded wings that resemble the Nazgul's Fellbeast are displayed. Blood is still bleeding and her back and her skin appears pink and swollen, clashing with her light brown skin tone.

This child should not fear me, but perhaps, I should be on my full guard.

I closely take in a good look at her and examine.

She wears what seems to be the bottom part of a dress, furs on her legs, but it does not seem to be as if they were animal and strange boots or shoes. As I carefully examine the surface, she has burns on her legs and especially on her back. The imprint of the Fellbeast wings seem as if she was branded.

Could she have been branded by the Dark Lord himself? What of the white light that has appeared instead of the flames of Sauron?

She breathes in and out. I gently drag her from the middle of the floor against one of the sharpened pillars so that the moonlight may shine on her and I can have a better look at her form. I turn her around in my embrace and I hold her almost upright. I hold down her tight, black corset so it does not slide off her. Her eyes are still closed.

"I want to go home… please just send me home." She whispers in a raspy voice and then she coughs then takes a deep breath.

"Who took you away from your home?" Can she confirm it?

She tries to open her eyes. "Call me crazy… it cannot have been…"she coughs" been real."

"Who was it? Tell me." I urge her to go on.

"It was that eye that was on fire. It was Sauron." She opened her eyes and brown ones met mine. She is so exhausted from wherever she came.

Then her eyes went wide. "No way…" She started to become alarmed.

"What is it?" She starts to shift from where I held her.

"You're not real. You just can't be real." Her speech is getting better. She is becoming more alert.

"I do not understand. Who are you?" She rolls out of my embrace, and I believe her adrenaline is beginning to grow inside her. She begins to stand up, though trembling in her stance and holds onto her tight corset.

"No! I won't answer anything! This is a dream! I watched those movies and I have implanted myself in them like some stupid dream! This is bogus! You are not who you are! Not at all!" She is yelling strange things! She must be quiet!

"Silence your tongue! You do not know who may be eavesdropping!" I stand, and to me, she looks to be like a mere lost child.

She gasps and stares straight up at me. She must be in awe of my appearance. "Oh my God… this is an accurate dream…" All I could do was huff and give her a vexing look.

She begins to walk towards me, but she limps and I see her hiss in pain and holds onto her back and massages it. "I can assure you this is no dream. You are in Isengard on top of the Orthanc. I am-"

"-Gandalf the Grey"

"Gandalf the Grey"

She said my name at the same time as me. How does she know?

"How did you know who I was?"

She comes up to me and feels my robe, fingering it with her hands. "You really are… Gandalf the Grey… this is not a dream. This is real. I really am hurt. My corset is completely ruined, and I am so messed up." She trips up a bit. Something caught her eye next to another sharpened pillar and picked it up. She examined it and opened up this bag like thing and scoffs. There is a long strap that she is able to put in on and it rests on her shoulder and the bag on her hip.

Strange.

"You need to sit down, after all you are injured. Now tell me everything, starting with who you are." I guide her by the shoulders and gently sit her down next to the sharpened pillar once more. She sits down, and I begin to tear off some strips of cloth from the bottom of my robe and begin to tie them around her to keep her corset from falling off of her.

"Thank you… Gandalf." She doesn't know whether to look me in the eye or not. She brings her legs closer to her and covers them with the bottom part of her skirt. She runs a hand through her hair.

Hm, the sprinkle is over. No more rain. Good.

"This is a fucking dream." She stares out. What an awful word to say!

"Mind you tongue! I shall hear no foul words out of your mouth!" I scold her. I sit cross-legged in front her.

"Alright. Sorry. Didn't think it would be such a big deal…" She turns her face away from me in a pout. She shifts in her position and I see her stiffen from the pain she feels.

I glared at her. "Now please! I am asking you nicely… who are you?" Her face turns to my direction again.

"My name is Elena." That's all she says.

"Well then, Elena, if I may call you that, where do you hail from?" she huffs and smirks.

"In a far far distant land called California." Kal-i-for-nee-uh?

"Be serious, now where do you come from?" Seems to me she speaks well in Westron. She rolls her eyes at me and holds her side to rub. She will be in pain for a while.

"I'm not kidding. If this is really real, then I just got dragged here from my world into this world! You call your land 'Middle-Earth', while the world I live in called 'Earth'! But that's the whole planet! Otherwise, I live in the United States that has two large oceans on each side of the land mass, I live in California, in the city of Los Angeles. I do not belong here in Arda! This shouldn't even exist!" She breathes in and out very heavily.

"What do you mean?" I am skeptical of this woman. I lean forward to signal her to tell me more.

"You and everything around here, and that is happening isn't real! This all came from a story book which turned into a movie, that is for pure entertainment! I'm losing my mind and therefore this is all a dream. I live in a world where this world is a complete fantasy! Wizards? Elves? Magic? No cars, phones, internet… Oh my God… no internet!" She delves her hand into her pouch and pulls out a rectangular object and does a few touch maneuvers. "Yup. I'm not home anymore. No signal or 4G." She puts it back into her pouch. "This is a very very weird dream and so wrong since I actually feel pain." She brings a hand to her chin as if to think. "Maybe while Lacey was driving, we hit a tree. Yup, I'm in a coma." She nods to herself.

"We are not a story! We are very much real that it even brought you here for a reason. These books and movies as you call it have been based on something. A seer! And you are the one to tell us what you know!" That must be the answer. I'm getting ahead of myself. This theory may be very wrong, and she could be the end of us.

"Yeah freaking right! And spoil everything!? I'd rather much just sit back and relax. You know what, I'm gonna try and wake up now!" She starts to pinch herself. "Ow! This isn't working!"

"Confound it Elena! For the last time, you are not dreaming!" I realized I must keep my own voice down. "You are injured and you need to take rest! Your back is injured from the branding and you have burns all over you!" I see her lean back into the pillar, and she groans in pain. Then she whips her head toward me.

"Branding? What the heck do you mean by branding?!" She reaches over to her back using her hand and she brings it before her face. "Blood? And I felt bumps… no way. I'm burned and bloodied all over…"

"Yes you are. You must calm down otherwise you may hurt yourself more." She started to breathe in slower and she shut her eyes. She took her hands to tuck her hair behind her ears and that's when we have noticed something. She had to stroke a little higher on one side.

"What. In. The. Hell?" She did it again. "This is pointy. My left ear feels funny Gandalf." I trudged myself closer to her and I had looked at her ears.

I have never seen this before in my entire life. Not even the Half-Elves have ever come upon it.

"It seems to me, that one ear is that of the race of Men, while your other ear is that of the race of the Elves."

She is the truest Half-Elf I have ever seen… remarkable.

"Oh my God, I'm a freak of nature… I'm a monster!" She starts to have miffed cries. "I'm not me anymore or something?"

"No don't be rash. Of course you are still the same person. Something is changing about you physically is all. Please trust me. When you first appeared before me, you were just a flamed sphere. Flames representing the Eye of Sauron." I turn to the mountains and the sun is just about to rise. I turn back to her and she seemed more fearful this time. "But, then it had changed into a white light. Something has rescued you. Possibly even guided you to me. I am not fully sure, but we must make good of the time we are given and the information that we have."

"But why me? Why not someone else?" She had started to shed more tears.

"We never know why, just make good with what you have." She smiles through her tears even after all this.

"Oh man oh man oh man… this is impossible. I'm actually stuck here. In Middle-Earth. And I'm a complete freak." She touches her ears once more.

"We will figure out what to do. We shall do more research and see as to why you are presented the way you are." I try to give her an assuring smile, and it has worked. No more tears for this unknown being.

"Damn Gandalf-"

"Elena, such language will not be acceptable." I tell her in a firm voice.

"Sorry. It's just not a huge deal where I'm from. If anything, I find it fun and perfectly expressive." She smirks, "So I will slip from time to time."

"And I'll be there each and every time to discipline you for it." We can't help but share a minor laughter. But our pleasant moment has been cut short.

"It seems to me that the Dark Lord's vessel has arrived."

We both turn around to see the betrayer, Saruman. "You keep away from her!" I yell to him and stand in front of her.

"Holy moley, Sarumon?! He's real too!?" She gets closer to me and holds onto my robes.

"She is not yours to keep, Gandalf the Grey. She is to be a servant to the Dark Lord. You cannot protect her from what she truly is to be in the end." He steps closer to us. Elena stands up and stays behind me.

"You know what becomes of her?" I questioned.

He looks behind me trying to get a better look at her.

"I see she has not fully accepted her destiny. She is of no use to me or my Lord Sauron now until she accepts her new found life. Lord Sauron requests an immortal body, and for that to be easily manipulated, he needed a weakling to become an elf to fit the role. So he chose that woman from the other world."

"I'm not doing anything! Leave me alone! I just want to go home!" Elena cried out behind me.

"You will do nothing to her!" I commanded him.

"She is useless to me right now. There will be a time where she will be fully awakened Gandalf. And when she does, will you still protect her? Do you think she will use all of her power to protect this land? Don't be absurd."

"She will! I can sense that she will do good Saruman! She can make the choice to destroy all evil!" I believe in this girl.

"I'm not going to do anything I don't want to do or any of your evil shit!" She shouted. I'll have to scold her about that foul word another time.

"She will succumb to the will of the Dark Lord, and when she does, she will destroy you and those around her. She will come to Lord Sauron's side. The end result will not change. She is to be his demon vessel for she is already bearing the Fellbeasts mark representing that she now bears energy of Morgoth!"

"I will see to it that it will never happen. She will be saved. She will not join you in this war!" What is her role? She is to be his vessel? Sauron's or even the Dark Lord Morgoth's host body?

Elena pokes her head out from one side of me. "I'm nobody's vessel, host, or anybody's bitch! Stay away from us and let us go!" Elena stays behind me.

Saurman then uses his staff to toss both me and Elena down to the floor and we slide. We struggle to stand up, but that white wizard then slides us along the platform until merely our erect feet were on the Orthanc and the rest of our bodies hovering over nothing.

"Stop it! Stop it! Please!" Elena shouts out.

I say nothing, but grunt in pain. I see my moth messenger again. Gwaihir is here…

"One ill turn deserves another. It is over. Embrace the power of the Ring… or embrace your own destruction!" He then flips us forward and slams the floor.

"Ahhh!" Elena yells out in pain. She tries to push herself up.

I lift myself enough to look at Saurman's face.

"There is only one Lord of the Ring. Only one who can bend it to his will." I see Gwaihir flying towards the Orthanc. "And He does not share power." I quickly wrap my arm around Elena's torso and we jump over the edge of the Orthanc.

"What the Hell Gandalf!? Oh my God! AHHHHHHH!" And we land on Gwaihir, the Lord of the Eagles.

"Oh! Oh!" She seems to have finally noticed we were able to escape.

"Yes Child. We have escaped." I hold her tightly and I instruct her to hang onto the feathers and to steady herself and she obliges.

"This is Gwaihir, isn't it?" She turns to me. Gwaihir only sounds his voice.

"Yes it is, Elena. He will only take us as far to Edoras."

"Why not all the way to Rivendell?" She questioned me. She knows many things… perhaps I should be careful.

"Even the Lord of the Eagles must go back to his realm at some point. We can travel on foot from Edoras to Rivendell."

"Do you think in Edoras, I can get better clothes… I'm practically half naked here…" She tries to adjust with the straps and her half burnt corset to cover her front. And she doesn't care too much that she's doing it in front of a male. I look away.

She sighs and closes her eyes. "This is just all so… unreal. I'm next to Gandalf the Grey. You're supposed to be Ian Mckellen with a ton of make-up and the robes you're wearing belong in wardrobe. How is this even possible…" She hasn't yet full accepted of what is going.

"Anything is quite possible really as long as life exists. Keep going with what you have and make the best of it." I wonder how many summers she has seen.

"Being twenty-eight years old, finally getting my life together, and this happens. I was actually happy where I was. I appreciated everything. I finished my education, got my own place, I worked and made money, and I was still able to party hardy…" she digs her face into Gwaihir's feathers.

All I could do is pat her back and say, "We'll see what happens my dear. We shall see what happens. All I really believe is that even though you were brought to Isengard, you were actually brought to me to guide you."

"I'm sticking to you like paste, buddy!" She turns her head to me and smiles. I could only smile back. Such informal speech and we have only known each other for less than a day. I could feel her tremble under my hand, and I do not blame her.

"It's going to be a while before we reach Rivendell huh?" She stares out into the open getting a better grip on the feathers again.

"Yes it will. Let's get along, shall we?"

This is going to be a long journey.

* * *

"Who is she?"

"She's just lying there in the dark. I don't think even the Undying lands has heard her scream."

"Hey Man! Don't be an ass! I'm telling you, I woke up in this tree, I panicked, and I fell like eight feet! It was a normal small tree, even though all the other ones are ridiculous tall…"

"Such a foul mouth you have on you, and I can assure you I am no man! Filthy they are…" This pale motherfucker with long blond hair is being a real pompous ass! What does he mean he's not a man?

"And point your arrows away from me! This is stupid! I'm still high aren't I? And this is a bad trip. I'm going to wake up, and Elena is going to be right next to me on the couch because she had to drive home."

"Stop talking this nonsense. You are in this forest and we would like to know why. Who are you?"

Oh Jesus. They're gonna kill me aren't they?

I gulp and stand up. I try to hide myself in some bushes that were next to me, but I saw this blond guy's two henchmen just stretch out more of the string of their bows.

What a great time to wear my wedding honeymoon outfit…

"I'm… Layla…" I said. Lacey might not flow with them… and I just realized it…

"You… we… aren't speaking in English…"

"English? We're speaking Elvish of course. Can't even speak formally and now normally!"

"Haldir, give this she-elf a little break. She seems so vulnerable." Haldir? She-elf? What the fuck?!

"Please Orophin. Vulnerability can be the best disguise!" No… and I start laughing…

"Have you gone mad?" The other one had said. Must be Rumil…

"No no… I know who you guys are! And I think I'm in La-La-Land!" I do the cuckoo sign by my moving my finger in circles next to my head and whistle the cuckoo rhythm.

I just see their faces. "Come on! Haldir, Orophin, and Rumil? Where are the cameras? This has to be one of those prank shows."

Haldir, at such speeds, brought a sword to my throat. I put my hands up. "Whoa! Take it easy there buddy!"

He looked very annoyed…. Shit… "How do you know us? I never told you my brother's name! Who are you really?"

Rumil and Orophin looked even more pissed off now. "Oh God this is real. I got sucked into Middle-Earth and now," I checked my ears and I feel them… pointy…, "I'm a freak! I'm a freak of nature! I'm not normal!" I crouch down missing his sword and held my knees.

"Brother, she has gone mad." I hear their voices. I know it's not English, but… I get it…

"For the last time! Who are you and where are you from!?" Haldir yelled at me again

"I told you! I'm Layla and I fell out of that treet! I'm not an elf! I'm human! Regular ears! I don't belong here! I just don't belong here! I want to go home!"

Then I heard one of them relax in their stance… my hearing has never been that good.

"Come now Haldir. I believe that she is not evil. She is practically looking like some harlot right now." Orophin can be so… direct?

"Hey!" I was offended by that, but at least I'll admit that I look like one… "Okay, yeah, I sort of do…" I stood up and sort of kicked a random rock. Then I see Rumil bring down his bow and arrow. "I agree. She has no armor, and obviously she has no weapons, and she looks rather intriguing, wouldn't you say so Orophin?" Rumil and Orophin grin at each other.

"You perverts…"I scoff at them and in a very lame way, I try to cover myself with my hands.

"Haldir, I promise I won't do anything bad. I seriously don't know how I got here. I just found out I'm an elf, but I gotta keep my cool about these things if we are ever going to get anywhere… now this is probably be a big risk… please don't kill me… please… I have nothing."

Haldir just rolls his eyes and puts his sword away as well. Phew… I walk over to him. "Can I – uh… may I go see… The Lady of the Wood?" He immediately glares at me as if I just told him something I wasn't supposed to know.

"How do you know of her?! Speak now!" Ah! Scary Haldir again!

_Come forth child. I will speak with you._ A voice in my head? Probably Galadriel…

Haldir closed his eyes and then opened them again. "You are to see… the Lady of the Wood. Come." The three of them start walking away. I take a few steps and I got dizzy.

"Whoa… not so fast there guys. Gimmie a minute…" I hold my head and my lower back again. I take a minute standing there.

"We must leave now. Our Lady awaits you." I didn't quite hear Haldir, but one minute I'm standing and the next, "I don't feel so good." And I just fall. I fell into a pair of strong arms and I heard them say, "Are you alright?" and then I feel something covering me. "She is bleeding! Quickly! Back to the Galadhrim!" I feel much heavy pressure on my back and I was being tied. I'm too tired to care… I feel being raised up and my legs included. I'm being carried bridal style?

"Brother, can you carry her on your own?" Orophin's voice I recognize.

"Yes. We are not far. Let us hurry." Haldir? He was being such a dick and he's still carrying me?

At least he's cute…

Goodnight…

* * *

I have never met with such an elf in my life. How could she have not known that she was an Elf? Hasn't she been one her entire life? Ridculous! All she knows is her name. A name that isn't familiar at all to any lands nearby.

How could she have not known she was speaking Elvish? She was speaking so clearly, informal, but clearly.

Who is this girl? What purpose does she serve?

My brothers and I quickly run as her injuries may be severe. Her entire back was bleeding… what could have caused that? And her manner of attire is atrocious. It is as if she were readying to offer herself to someone! Where does she come from where females just dress this provocatively? I could practically not use my imagination to see her form. I focus staring straight out in front of me as I run.

"Haldir you are blushing!" Confound it Rumil. Still saying unnecessary things even in between breaths.

"Quite taken by her, are we? I never met a she-elf that can whisk your heart away at a moment's glance, even right after you had put a sword up to her throat."

"Orophin, just run! Now is not the time to joke!"

We must get her to a healer.


	3. Things Happen

Disclaimer: I don't own diddly squat of LOTR. Just the characters and subplot or intertwining plot? You guys know what I mean… Hey lawyers! Don't bother me.

Again, sorry for the mistakes. I do not use a beta. One day I'll replace them with better/easier reading chapters. In the mean time, again, make sense of it yourself. I am doing this out of my own pure enjoyment, but at the same time, I hope you all enjoy it too.

This chapter CONTAINS VULGAR LANGAUGE! Including the F-word… and the S-word…

Sorry it took me so long to do this. I have been busy with a new temp job I just got, plus you know… social life. Hahaha.

Thank you reviewers! Keep on telling me how I'm doing. And of course, thank you to the silent members who have faved this story, me, and the followers too. It makes my heart metaphorically grow with fondness to keep enjoying my writing and my appreciation that you are reading this. :]

I will not list who's POV it is. Actually listing who's POV it is while the reader is reading a story, kinda ruins the flow of things. Sorry, that's just not how roll when it comes to this style… I guess I can start listing it here before you read it? I can do that… if I forget to do it… mah bad, yo. So POV as Follows: Gandalf, Layla.

Also THERE WILL BE MANY FRAGMENTS. After all, this is POV and people's thoughts spaz out, say incomplete sentences, blah blah of the sort. If you would like to assist me with punctuation, PLEASE PM ME WITH THE LINK. Do not list it in the reviews or mention of it. Just mention if you like or dislike how this story is going, but be gentle about it. Feedback is appreciated and not flames. Kthxbye.

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 3: Things Happen

We had arrived to Weathertop. I have thought to myself, since we have been traveling together, that she looks horrible. She never fixes her clothes right. Her brown leggings are never smoothed out, she made holes at the wrists of her black long sleeve tunic to put her thumb through it, and her brown short sleeve tunic that she has it over her long sleeve has a few food stains on it. I'm thankful that she doesn't have it on her brown boots. I also had to purchase her a brown cloak with a hood to help her cover her ears and her face. She told me she felt very mysterious and pretended that she was a wizard too, moving her arms and hands around in an ungraceful dreadful way as if she was conjuring a spell.

How embarrassing that was to witness.

She always apologizes for when something happens to the clothes that I have bought her, but at least she is very appreciative. Even when we stopped by Edoras and had met King Theoden, she was in awe of meeting him, and thanked him much for his hospitality, even though, as she put it, 'has a bad attitude', but we both knew, as a king, has much stress to deal with. She mentioned that King Theoden should really relax.

Her voice shakes me out of my thoughts.

"Gandalf, are you sure we should stop here?" She yawns as Shadowfax comes to a stop at the bottom of the hill. We have been riding for a few days since we have departed from Bree. It has been a long ride and she hasn't been able to sleep ever since we have met. Whenever we are about to leave an inn, I always notice that her long sleeve tunics in which she sleeps on her forearm is always lightly tearstained. "Yes it should be fine. Though I can see your Elvish side can stay awake, but it seems as your mortal side is still dominant. You need to rest and you can't do it by sleeping and salivating on my robes." I laugh.

"Oh my freaking God, Gandalf! I don't drool!" She then takes her sleeve and overacts to my comment by vigorously wiping her mouth. She had just woken up…

"I can't help to think that I should really remember something about you arriving at Weathertop…" We both dismount off the great horse.

"Remember Elena. We do not talk about the future for even the smallest change can cause a great catastrophe." She has mentioned to me many times how she wants to confess the happenings of the future, but I always refuse her.

"I know, Gandalf. It's just hard… really hard… especially since I'm such a gossipy little bi-"

"Elena…" I always have to catch her.

"iieeeeautiful woman. Beautiful woman. Sometimes it's really hard to keep my mouth shut when it concerns life and death!" She crosses her arms and she marches ahead of me. "I understand how you feel, but you will know of when and where to mention these things if it is desperately needed."

"I know! I know…" She stops at the bottom of the rocks before she climbs up. She takes a deep breath and she has a quick tremble. "It's still so weird that I can hear you when you're, like, twenty feet away!" She covers her human ear. "Yep, just on my left side. This elf ear is now my good ear…er, best ear." She rubs her eyes, "And just a quick mention, my eyes are ridiculous confused. One eye is seeing a lot clearer than my other eye. I thought I needed to wear glasses at one point… AND I have been feeling the weirdest pains on my arms, and legs, and shoulders! This is stupid…" I couldn't hear the last sentences because of her mumblings... What are glasses?

"Don't you worry. Elven eyes have tremendous eyesight, and your mortal eye is trying to adjust to it, though it never will. You need to relax." I walk next to her and pat her head. I look at her and she glares with a twinkle of amusement. "I'm not some little kid you know. I'm a full grown woman." She crosses her arms.

"Well, that may be true, but compared to me, you are only an child." I could not help but snicker.

"Yeah well… oh hey look! It's Weathertop!" Such false enthusiasm. Of course we're here, but I'll go along with her change of conversation. This is not the first time of course, such silly nonsense.

"I think while we are here, in case Frodo comes here by some slim chance, I'll write out a message to say that I was here with today's date." I began to step ahead of her and found a path to walk us up to the top of the hill.

"Well that was easy. Here I thought I had to rough it." I heard her say behind me. How lazy can she be in her own world? "I ridiculously miss escalators, elevators, conveyer belts… Gandalf, can't you just magically send me up there?" I look back at her, and she is already sitting on the ground barely moving from the starting point.

"As you probably know, the night is young, dark, and it is only the two of us here and with Shadowfax so far away, who knows what will happen. So either wait here and figure it out, or come up to see the wonders of Weathertop." Hoping some dark thoughts will grind in her mind that we should stay together and to build her energy and endurance.

"Fine. Scare me why don't you… I'm coming, I'm coming. Keep your grey hat on Old Man." Old Man? It is a fact that I am old in physical and chronological age, but… oh I am too old to care.

We continue to walk to the top and I look back to her. She is staring out to a location where one can hide. "Gandalf, did you say you were going to leave a message?"

"Yes. Why?" I raise an eyebrow to her.

"No reason…uh… it's just really important that you do. Good thing you thought about it all by yourself rather than me telling you. The future hasn't been tipped too much." This is may be true, though with her being here, who knows how much the scale has moved.

When we reach the top, Elena for some reason, is very excited. She runs toward the middle of the concrete floor, her hood falling off, and sits on the ground.

"It still psychs me out Gandalf. I'm here in Middle-Earth. I've been here for about a month maybe more, and… well, I'm just here. The only way to keep my sanity is to think of this as a vacation… that there is some way to get back home…"

"Sometimes you do have to find something to look forward to, otherwise, what are you working or even living for?" I sat on a stone and began to carve out my message.

"True. And what Saruman said when we first bailed from the Orthanc? About how I'm not ready to be his vessel?"

My eyebrow has risen again. What is she thinking about, I wonder. "What would you like to ask? I can try to answer when you ask the question."

She picks off the tiny pebbles and smoothes out brown boots and leggings. "What do you think will happen to me?"

I think back to what Saruman had mentioned that Sauron needed Elena to be immortal (so naturally an elf) and since Sauron is, no matter what, an Ainur, and with this power, he had succeeded into transforming her, but it seems to me it had been put to a stop since she may be clinging to her mortality. Perhaps Elena being from another world, she may be easily influenced by the dark lord since she has no idea how know any true power or even the comprehension of the feelings attached to it.

"I think all good things will come your way if you work hard enough and continue to resist the evil inside of you. Not only that, I know, that you already know about the One Ring, you possibly may be the most sensitive to it since you have energy directly from the Dark Lord Morgoth." She must know these possibilities and I cannot shield her from them forever.

She sighs. "I figured as much. I know I can beat this. I have to. I don't want to lose who I am, let alone what I am. I just need help in knowing… everything I guess? So overall, I have dark lord engeries… though I thought at least Morgoth was gone to the void.."

"As did I, Elena. But it may be that before Morgoth was defeated, some energy may have been transferred to Sauron, and when the Eye of Sauron remained and chose you to be Sauron's vessel, that's how a connection has been established now." It has taken about a month, but she has finally accepted her predicament. I have struggled this entire time for her to speak about what has happened to her, but she had been in denial. Oh the many times I have heard her say, 'This is all a dream.'

This is actual progress for her.

"Elena. I am here to make sure that the Dark Lord's connection to you never meets your mind, as long as you keep your distance away from such lingering thoughts." I shift on the stone where I sit, to lean forward and smile at her. She runs her hand through her hair.

"I know." She then completely lies down on the ground with her hands behind her head, staring out to the starry sky. "I'll never succumb to that. There is no reason to become an elf for me. No reason at all. And if by some stupid reason I do, and I mean if I somehow actually find a retarded reason to find one, my thoughts will no way become evil. None of my own anyway." She sighs.

After resting for what seems like hours, it was already time for us to depart this magnificent hill. I tell Elena to rise, for we still have a long way ahead until we reach Rivendell.

"Aww man really? But it's just so relaxing here. All this traveling really sucks." She rises and starts rubbing her back, patting herself off. "I think I might be feverish. My eyes feel so warm." She began rubbing her eyes.

"Elena, you are rubbing your eyes too much. Don't want to go blind now, do we?" I start to see her actually press her hands into her eyes.

"I know, it's just really warm and cause of the warmth, it's making it all itchy. Maybe I'm allergic to the gravel here or something." It may be some sort dirt reaction in the air…

"Gandalf, it's getting warmer, no, hotter!" She has now palmed her eyes and began to scream.

"Elena, what are you feeling?!" I rush to where she stands and I grab onto her forearms attempting to pull them down. I need to see her eyes.

"No! No! They hurt!" She struggles with me, but I managed to pull them down, but she is shutting her eyes very hard.

"Elena! Open them! Open your eyes!" She screams again and she began to cry out. I see her tears streaming down her face, trailing down her cheeks. She slowly, and painfully, opens her eyes and I see it… flames in all in both her eyes… while the white has turned black.

The Eye of Sauron. Is he using it to try to see us?

Then we heard a very dreadful noise. No man nor orc can utter…

It is a warning!

The scream of the Nazgul.

"Nazgul! We must flee! Straight to Shadowfax now!"

I reach for her hand and we begin running down the trail back to the leveled earth. She falls, bumps her feet into rocks, and at some points yells out of pain.

Once we have reached the bottom, Shadowfax is in hysterics urging us to get closer.

I hear the hooves of many horses behind Shadowfax and there the nine were. And they begin riding their horses fast and straight towards us. I had to pull Elena to me to then help her onto Shadowfax. I turn to the white stallion's head. "Shadowfax, ride hard and ride fast. We must reach Rivendell!" The horse nods and I proceed to lift myself on him, with Elena in front of me. She has put her palms on her eyes once again and she is yelling and groaning in pain. "Hold on Elena!" She let's go of her eyes and struggles to see what is going on.

Now we make haste, and the nine Nazgul are behind us and very close.

I pray that we make it in time. We still have days until we reach the House of Elrond.

The Black Riders surrounded us during this chase. They all have drawn their swords ready to strike, but at each attempt, Shadowfax dodges their swings.

"Go Shadowfax! Make haste!"

"Gandalf! Look out!

* * *

I stare out into the woods of Lothlorien. It almost seems like the trees glow at night. My room is huge. It's bigger than my apartment! All my stuff back home are probably collecting dust right about now. I miss home so much… family, friends….. AND INTERNET!

I miss the internet so much. I actually had my bag with me, and first thing when I got this room, was dig for my phone and realized,.. snapz! No signal or 4G.

Did Elena make it okay? I worry about that bitch... I saw those flames consume her. We screamed for each other… we reached out of each other… Did she find anyone? Was she lucky enough to find anyone from the Fellowship? Oh God, please… please…

Once I get the skills to survive, I will find you. I know you wouldn't want me to go out there blind. I just hope you were lucky as I was when I first got here. I wonder how you are… Are you branded? Normal? Did you find Lord Elrond? Gandalf? The Hobbits? Hell even Aragorn or Boromir… Please… I hope you are safe...

I look at all the different Elven people outside of my window. Everyone has a little glow and they are so graceful and seem like they are floating, not walking at all. Something I haven't achieved yet. Lord Celeborn says I stomp as if I was an angry tempered young elf whenever he and Lady Galadriel would ask to see me for a little chat. And Lady Galadriel couldn't help but giggle a bit and nod her head to say that she agrees with her husband. They tease me, but they mean well. The three of us have had a lot of quality time together during dinners and walks.

Gosh, but a lot of things happened… I think it's been about a month now.

When I first woke up here in my room, I thought I was dreaming… I thought I had a one night stand, and then I felt pain in my back… you don't feel pain in your dreams.

I was bandaged up and right next to me in a chair was the brightest, most soothing light… skin and hair so fair, and I was in awe…

Lady Galadriel herself…

She saw me freak out when I first saw her and saw me deny everything around me proclaiming that it was all a dream.

She laughed at me. A light laughter that ever the gracious lady can express… I'll never be as lady like as her. I laugh at the memory.

I told her everything. How I saw Elena being stripped from me, being stuck in that tree, and she told me what was revealed to me about my special tattoo on my back and her theory.

"I believe you are here for a balance. I sensed two forces penetrating through this world of great evil and a great good. The branding you have on your back share the symbolism of The Valar created by Ilúvatar. You have already begun your change from mortal to elf. You will soon be granted great power when it is needed. Whilst you are here, you will learn what needs to be learned. From your earlier reactions, I can tell already that you are rash with your emotions, but you follow through according to your will. I know you can save the race of men and all of Arda from this evil."

But then what she said about Elena…

"As for your friend, I do not know for sure, but if you are here having the symbols of the Valar, our angel-like beings as you call it, she may have been selected for evil, though I cannot sense much of it, if there is any, as of right now."

The Lady and I talked for a long time when I woke up. She even gave me her two cents that the reason why I know Elvish already, it's because I was "born" into this world as an elf. I felt so good talking to her, especially after everything that had happened. I was able to talk for so long because I actually felt no pain. And the scary thing is…

I haven't been feeling any pain ever since.

I feel pressure from when I trip, and I would say "ow", but out of reflex, but no pain. I haven't told anyone yet. Not even The Lady. I just don't want to hear any bad news… I want to be in denial for a little bit longer in case I'm like, dying or something… I don't want to know if I'm dying right now.

I'm in Lothlorien. I'm gonna live it up right now.

I've taken a lot of tours around the woods. Rumil and Orophin take their turns. When one is patrolling the woods, the other one is with me. We laugh, we talk, we play jokes on Haldir, like, leaving leaves in his room, I hide his bow, I hide his tunics, and he is fast when he chases me down the halls, but with my spazztastic moves, I outrun him… for like a minute. He always snatches whatever he has in my hands and walks away in with a scowl from this throat. He's just so adorable to mess with.

I admit it. I'm like a little girl in elementary school picking on her little school crush…

I just can't help it. I hear him yell at me with, "Confound it Layla! This is absolutely an inappropriate! Do not go into my room again!" or "How many times must I tell you to not touch my things!"

I've only been messing with him since he's been picking on me about my archery lessons… He's so arrogant and with an ego to boot!

The Lady had strongly suggested until I find out what powers I have, I must learn a few things just in case. Learn to be light-footed when walking or running; be in tuned with nature, and archery. It could help adjust to my eyesight, so it was a good choice. And deep down, I think The Lady of the Wood knew who I wanted to train me, even though Orophin and Rumil were volunteering themselves.

Her words were to Haldir, "She would need adamant training and strict discipline. Haldir, your position will be substituted by one of your siblings as you train this new 'fledging elf'." She smiled. I looked at Haldir and I rolled my eyes, pretending that I wasn't enthusiastic about the idea either.

Haldir tried to hide his face of either disgust or something of the sort, but he showed his shock, sucked it up, and said, "As The Lady requires of me, it shall be done." And turns to me and said, "We shall start in a few days, so that I may discuss with Rumil and Orophin about trading schedules between the three of us concerning patrols and it gives me time to create your lesson plan." He had to struggle with those last words.

It was just a pain being with him at first.

I remember our first tries of me of just trying to figure out how to even hold the stupid bow! "Hold steady! Keep your arm straight! Your elbow is too far off and they must be parallel to each other!" Blah blah blah… but then I feel the heat every time…

EVERY TIME!

He comes up behind me and adjusts my posture himself. I start to get all giddy and freeze at his touch and I get really nervous when I just feel a slight breath… from his mouth… when his head is next to mine. I would get so stiff each and every time. Once or twice I hit the center target out of the many times he brought me out to the archery fields, and I would actually get a small smile out from him.

Was he proud of me? Or was he thinking, "bout time, bitch" kind of smile… then he told me "Now, try that again."

Oh the life I lead now… That took me forever to get the center target! Of course, I couldn't get it again, after another couple of weeks. Then he smiled more at me, but as a better understanding that he is proud of me… OR that finally his teachings are getting through to me. So I'm a slow learner, big deal.

Then he asked questions. How old am I? What is the world like where I come from?

I looked at him wide eyed. It was on a day after I finished my lessons one day.

"What? Can't I be curious about my own student? We have been spending much time together, might as well be acquainted." Of course, once I told him my age, he said I was a baby. A 'mere fledging'. I just told him that because I'm so young to him, I had to mature very quickly… so I did a little "shimi" move by moving my shoulders to shake my boobs.

He just coughed and looked away. I think he turned a little red and hastily changed the subject. I laughed and went a long with it.

Then we talked. And we talked for a long time.

Then he asked me to continue talking with him over dinner.

He told me of a memory that he and his brothers were having an archery contest and the loser, poor Rumil, had to do patrols for Orophin for an entire month. I would just listen to him.

Soon the pranks and the bickering went to talking and swapping stories. Then I find myself being escorted by Haldir and eating a snack with him outside when he isn't on duty. Shit, he even brought me once to one of his patrols, talking to me most of the time without ever taking his eyes off of the boarder. He is a very good multi-tasker.

He'd tell me about the Galadhrim, the training, how he rarely leaves beyond these boarders…

You know, he's not so bad the more you get to know him…

Seriously though, I was like, what the fuck? But I love this attention from him!

I started to see less of the brothers and more of Haldir.

He's snarky, a smart ass, he's charming, he's a dick, he's sweet, he's an asshole… He's told me things, like:

"You're shot has been improving. You're getting closer to hitting something."

OR

"My heart sings to see thee, but at a lower note of despair. Perhaps more like a screech."

Oh gee thanks! Jackass… but I can't help but laugh. The things he just says to me either sends him a glare and a slap on his shoulder, or I just scoff at him and laugh later.

He doesn't laugh. He just chuckles. A masculine chuckle.

It's been a month of a hellish bliss being with this guy… er… elf? Elf guy? Sure why not…

* * *

"Layla!"

I turn around from staring out the window of my room.

"Man Haldir! You scared me!"

He shares his haughty smile with me and strolls into my room. He was already wearing his bow and quiver on his back. "Well, you should have been expecting me, with leaving your door open. I could have been an orc readying to assassinate you."

I just cross my arms and give him my own snooty smile. "Well, then you just didn't do your job very well, now did you?"

"Yes, well, it seems that my new distraction happened to smell like one, and that scent lead me here."

Oh that jerk face! "Oh go kiss an orc!" and I stick my tongue out at him and I laugh. Then I got caught off of my guard because within a blink of an eye, and with his light-footed gift of his race, he was right before my face smiling so devilishly.

"My apologies, but kissing you is out of the question." He then grabs my cheeks and squeezes them together making my lips into fish lips. I swat him away with hands like I was beating him. Well, just slaps really on his shoulders.

"Oh my God! You just can't turn off your evilness can you?!"

"It is a part of my charm. Calm down. I promise to be nice to you now." He puts his hands up blocking my strikes.

I stop my rain of slaps, and go next to my bed to grab for my training bow. "You better be nice to me. These hands can be pretty dangerous, you know."

"I and my brothers very much agree. Come along then. It is time we stroll over to the archery range, to improve, what you call, your growing skills of death."

"Yeah yeah. Keep your tunic on, Old Elf. I'm wearing my lucky color today." Wearing a soft color of a blend of silver and gold dressy dress, with no sleeves today… it's my kinda idea of what Lady Luck would wear.

"Oh yes. Let us put it to the test then."

We walk beside each other on the way to the archery fields, first getting out of the main grounds and onto the path to lead us there. I smile and wave to Orophin and Rumil and they wave back from their patrol platforms, making kissy faces at me. I couldn't help but blush a little, and good timing that Haldir wasn't paying attention to me. I fan myself a bit to cool my face down.

"Are you alright? Why is your face red?" Crap, he looked at me and stopped walking. I look up into his crystallized blue eyes, and I mean I have to look up. He's like half a head taller than me. Heh heh…

"Oh I'm fine. I'm just feeling a little hot is all. I think I'm still adjusting to being an elf and losing my ability to feel temperatures you know? I think it's still trying to forget what it's like…" I love using this lie when I blush…

"Oh yes. You have mentioned that. I'm sure you'll be used to your new immortal life soon." He just smiled a little bit and we continued walking.

Haldir is really amazing, and and and… oh boy… I think I'm really crushing on him… FML.

I shouldn't fall for him… I barely know him! Not enough time of being here… plus I have to worry about Elena. Where is Elena?

I release a breath that I didn't know I was holding in and let out a sigh.

"Are you sure you are alright?" He puts a hand on my shoulder and I freeze up. I take a sharp breath in and I just say, "Yep. I'm good. Don't you fret, Dude. I swear, I am in tip top shape. Yeah let's do this!" I just keep marching on toward the path leaving a confused elf behind, but he easily caught up to me.

"Layla, now what is the matter? You have been acting strangely since I met up with you in your room. What is on your mind to cause you such distress?" We had arrived to the range and I was ignoring him. I quickly grabbed some of the training arrows that were in the quiver that were next to the post line of wood of where I am supposed to stand behind and I can see the target. I put on the quiver of arrows and I put myself up in position stretching out my arm and bending my elbow making sure they are in a parallel line.

"I'm fine Haldir really. Please just, drop it. I'm just having an off day today." I steady myself and slowly breathe out and release the arrow.

I hit the target, but not the center. I grabbed another one from the quiver on my back and do the position again. And then I felt it…

His body heat radiating against me, the feeling of his hands on my skin to fix my posture, his breath on my neck to try to see the alignment of my aim, and oh God, I think I'm going to melt in his hands. My legs are shaking.

"Layla, why are you trembling?" He puts some of his weight on me to try to keep me still…

I'm going crazy right now. And I think I'm about to do something stupid…

"If I hit the center target, I'm going to do something very… very brave… and very very stupid…"

"What are you saying?" He briefly let's me go and as fate would have it…

I released the arrow and it hit the center target.

I drop the bow and take off the quiver and I face him.

"Layla, what is wro-" I cut him off with my lips. I cup his face with my hands, and press my body to him, giving him an all one sided passionate kiss. Once I felt nothing for those few seconds, I let go. I thought I felt something go around my waist, but I didn't think anything of it.

I sighed, not opening eyes. "Yeah. That was dumb… um, don't tell anybody, okay?" I looked up into his eyes and all I saw was shock. I started to well up a little bit in my eyes and I pressed my lips together.

I'm so stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

"Layla I-" He takes a step forward. Is he going to yell at me? Pity me? Push me away now?

I fucked up royally…

I raise my hand up. "No it's okay. Lesson learned. What would a marchwarden want with me? Yup. I did something really improper for an elf, but hey, I've only been an elf, for like, what? A month?" I try to laugh it off, but I was too nervous to be smooth, and I slowly start to take a few steps back from him. I need to be away from him. "You know what? Forget this ever happened. I'm so sorry." I turn around and I start running away.

"Layla wait! Please wait! Listen to me!" Shit he's chasing me. I hear his footsteps, but I won't be caught this time.

"Leave me alone! I'm sorry okay!" I'm running past everything. More elves, trees, hallways, everything. I'm making a lot of noise with my running, but I don't care right now. I'm picking up my dress and it starts to get some small tears around my legs. Shit, the seamstresses are going to get mad at me again for ruining another one.

And then I trip on a fucking root… and I fell…A TREE ROOT! Damn it!

"Aiya! This cannot be happening!" I just get up right away, feeling the pressure of where pain should be, I don't feel it. This isn't good. I really can't feel pain…

"Layla, do not stray too far from the boarders! Stop this instant!" I wonder with all of this yelling, I bet the entire Galadhrim knows what we're doing… sucks balls…

"No! I can't face you right now!"

"You must stop! You are bleeding!"

"It's okay, I can take of myself!" Really? Now this sucks balls…

I had to come to a halt before I spread blood everywhere. I take a few breaths to calm down, and actually take a look at myself. I see a trail of blood going down my arm and already onto my finger tips, touching my nail.

"Ohhhhhhhhh…" I guess when I tripped on that root, I must have hit a rock or something… I'm grazed and pretty much bleeding, a lot… huh…

I took a look at my legs again. Yep, teared the bottom area pretty bad. Teared holes and scratches that are lightly bleeding. I feel a trickling down the sockets of my eyes. I wipe it away only to bring it before my eyes, is more blood. I check my forehead, and yep. More blood. I think I hit my forehead.

In seconds, Haldir caught up to me. "Layla. Are you mad?! You are hurt! How can you still be running?" Oh can this be any more awkward for me?

"Trust me. I'm fine… I think. Not only am I not a match for the marchwarden, but I'm a freak of nature too. Can this get any worse…?" I sigh, and I just start heading back, walking of course… no need for more accidents.

I stopped because I felt his hand grab for my elbow. "Layla, what is going on here?"

I just straight up started sniffling, and more tears came out. I just smiled a sad smile. At least someone else will know, if Lady Galadriel hasn't found out yet.

I turned to him and he releases my elbow. "You see, I don't feel physical pain."

I see the shock on Haldir's face again. Never thought I would actually see it twice in a day.

"What do you mean? I don't understand." Guess I gotta show him…

"I really don't know when I get hurt anymore. I might feel some clues. Sometimes, I'll feel pressure of where I might have gotten hurt, but that's about it. I don't feel the distress of pain." I bring my opposite hand to my shoulder and actually apply pressure to it. And I mean a lot of it and I don't cringe at all. More blood seeps out of my injury and trails down some more, following the flow to down to my fingertips.

"By the Valar, Layla…"

"See? I told you I was a freak of nature. I didn't want to tell anybody in case this was like, a sign of dying from an illness or whatever. I don't want to know if it's true or not…" Insert nervous laugh here… I press on my forehead, I don't know if it's a scratch or a gash, but I rub right over it, and I still don't cringe. He stares at me up and down, and his face softens.

"Yeah, so… this is why you found me in a tree. I came from another world," I look down on the ground and kick some dirt, rub my nose… Damn this is hard…, "I've only been an elf for about month, I'm barely ladylike at all, I have a vulgar tongue," I do the air quotes with my hands, "who knows what the heck I am with this branding on my back, and AND… I can't feel pain. Yeah forget about me actually. Let's go back to being… whatever we were before." I pick up my dress and I turn back around to start walking, but then I get whipped around again, to face Haldir, but this was really really fast. My hair went flying behind me.

And he's kissing me! He's kissing me! My eyes are wide, and I see his are closed. He had to bed down a bit to get me… I then relax into the kiss and close my eyes. I feel his hands wrap around my waist… ohhhhh that's what he was about to do before I split from him earlier… ha… I wrap my hands around his neck and we make the kiss deeper… such passion I'm getting from this elf… I've never felt this way before with my previous relationships… ever… It's like magic.

We finally release after what seems like forever and I had to relax my breathing rhythm a bit… that was one helluva kiss right there.

"Now you listen to me, since I finally have a chance to say what was needed to be said before you ran off like that." Is he smiling? He arches his eyebrow. I gulp and I slowly nod.

"Before you pulled that impulsive, rash, little stunt of yours, I was planning to invite you to embark on a walk with me after our training, and ask you if it would be appropriate to begin a courtship relationship with you." I pressed my lips together and did an 'oh' face and I covered my face with my hands… then I realized I was probably spreading more blood on my face. How did he not get any on his face? Damn he's magical… I clasped my hands behind my back and rocked my body from side to side as if I was a little girl pretending that I did nothing wrong.

"Now I have always learned the manners of courtship in which the appropriate protocol is that the male will purse the female of his interest." I started to rub the dirt with my foot with the ball of my foot. I am so embarrassed.

"And most of all, I do not think you are a 'freak of nature' as you call it. You are an amazing being. You are rash, impulsive, farfetched, caring, and someone who can very much put me at a challenging game of 'clashing tongues'." Oh he smirked… but a flirtatious one… that's so hot… I knew he referred to our bickering, but wow…

He cups my face…

"You have been certainly a challenge to teach, but it is very eventful. So in a good way I suppose, that has me so enthralled about you. No other elleth has done that. You are beautiful, and I cannot wait to know more things about you." He looks to my shoulder, and I scrunch my eyebrows together in worry. "We will find out as to the reason why your body is the way it is. And don't say you are possibly dying. It pains my heart to hear you say that, but I suggest we speak with the Lady of the Wood to find out. It is very concerning." He looks to me again, and he brings me into a full on embrace.

"In the end, you are a match for me." FML that brought me to tears. I hid my face into his chest and I couldn't help but laugh a little.

I feel that he kissed the top of my head. "You're thinking that you should've waited till after training." He's good.

"Yeah I am." I pull away, and I looked at his chest. Oh balls….

"Oh uh… sorry… I bloodstained your tunic…" I bit my lip.

"That's fine. It's fresh, so it will come right off. In the mean time," He intertwines his fingers into mine, "let's go get cleaned up and so we can actually have a nice dinner." I smiled and we both walked back. I squealed quietly, but he still heard me, doing one of his huffle chuckles.

I wonder how long has Haldir been curshing on me? I can't help but be curious. We were pains in our asses for a couple of weeks. Heehee… I think of an old 90s song by Savage Garden…

"Oooo I want you, I don't know if I need you, but, oooooo I'd die to find out… So can we find out…?" Oh goodness… he gave me a quick squeeze of my hand. "You'll need to sing that to me later on…" Now I'm hella blushing…

As we walk back, heading for the main hall, I couldn't help feel a little guilty…

Elena, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I'm giving into a little happiness right now.


	4. Can I Relax Now?

Disclaimer: I still don't own anything that has to do with the LOTR series. Go away lawyers. Oh and in Ch. 3 I made a reference to Savage Garden's song "I Want You". Yep, don't that wonderful song either… get away from me lawyers… *Pokes them away with a stick*

VULGAR LANGUAGE- like the F and S word.

NO BETA! I NO USE BETA OKIE? But it is pretty good that you can make sense of it yourself. I know my PUNCTUATION IS BAD. If you would like to help me, PLEASE PM ME with a link to help me out. Please only review what you think of the story. :]

Sorry about this chapter. It's slow and it is long. This just happens to dive into the relationship that Gandalf and Elena share. So sorry if you think that Gandalf is OOC. I'm pretty bad into getting into thought patterns lol.

This is strictly POV only- First it is Gandalf, then it is Elena.

Since it is POV, there will be FRAGMENTS! After all, people's thoughts don't normally form complete, essay form thoughts. That'd be just weird. Lulz. You know the drill.

I'll give some shout outs to the reviewers. :D

Diana- Thanks. I'll keep updating. Yeah, once I get this fic outta my head, I'll fix it up and replace the chapters with cleaned up ones. I do want to keep it realistic. Don't you just have moments where you yell at the TV, books, fics, movies, etc. and just think to yourself, "I would have done that way differently." =P

With Grace and Courage- Like the penname. Good thing I'm updating right? Thanks for calling my fic awesome. :D I hope you're still reading. ;]

Secret Moon Princess- I'm flattered that you would call my fic being epic so far. Yes, lucky Layla is having it pretty easy compared to Elena right now. I'll try to make it a wee bit harder for her, but I think in a more comical "Lorien-first-world" problems lol. And we'll see what happens with Haldir later on. Is he gonna be "killi"/"killy"? I see what you did there… XD And yeah. Layla is childish, but that's what adults do sometimes. These are girls that basically consider camping as heading out to a national park where there is still a cabin, a general store, a car, and yes… electricity and indoor plumbing. They are only admin assistants. :P I hope I'll make Elena's appearance in the next chapter good. Hehe.

Pretty-little-liar-girl70- Lol I'll keep updating as much as I can. I do enjoy psyching out the characters. :P Thanks for the compliment to my fic. Eff yeah… :P

- I'll list in the author's notes up top in this area. I feel if I list it in the middle of the story, the reader might miss out on the flow of things. If I forget to list it, my bad. .

EGilly- I hope you'll like the direction of this story. I'm trying to make it a little different, even though I know this kind of plotline has been overdone, but I thought I'd give it a shot. Heh heh. Yes, they are together, and read on how they will interact with the Fellowship.

Thank you to the others who have amazingly silently favored and started following this fic. I very do much appreciate it and I am flattered.

Now let's do this.

"Snoogins."- Jay

* * *

Chapter 4: Can I Relax Now?

"Gandalf look out!"

I had shifted my sight, and at excellent timing and reflexes, I had moved away from a sword strike and Elena leaned forward just missing it. Shadowfax was aware of such movement, that I feel his muscles being flexed and rushed, and speed is being increased.

"Damn it! I wish we had some fire! The Nazgul are vulnerable to it!" She whips her head toward me and my eyes could only focus on hers, showing me the fiery symbol of Sauron. Fear had been instilled in me. Could the Dark Lord see us? Hear us? Elena would surely feel something if he was communicating with her…

Now the situation at hand…

I continue swinging my sword blocking every strike. They are striking hard, that I see sparks fly from our clashing blades!

"Come on Shadowfax! You can do it!" She holds onto his mane and avoids the hands of the Nazgul. "Leave me alone!" She yells. "Back you treacherous beings!" I swing my Glamdring blocking every attack they were engaging us in, but it seems, recognizing all of their patterns, they are wanting me to be either distracted or to be thrown off of Shadowfax to remove Elena from my care!

"Get away from me!" A Nazgul's hand was on her arm, trying to pull her off of Shadowfax's back, but I had contact with another of the Nazgul. I extend my other arm, holding my staff to push him away, and unleashed a small flame from it, setting the Nazgul soldier on fire, and Elena removed her hooded cloak that the Nazgul was clenching.

"Whoa Gandalf! You gotta do that again!" I'm having difficulties though because of my distractions of avoidance of steel to our skin, and having a watchful eye on Elena!

"I am afraid… I cannot! I am preoccupied with other matters that require my attention!" I was able to say as I pushed off another Black Rider, but then another one clashed with me immediately.

Then I noticed it. Lines of fire coming toward our direction!

"Holy shit!" As fast as the fire lines came, they had struck a Black Rider. That utterly dreaded scream had sounded, and it fell back, catching fire quickly.

"Gandalf! Another one of those arrows are coming our way!" She can see it!

"Shadowfax! Verge to one side to force the Riders to group!" Elena shouted to Shadowfax, and he made a noise, signaling that he obliges. As predicted, when we had to speed forward, we became the lead in this chase, and when Shadowfax moved to one side, the Nazgul we following us in a cluttered line, and three more had been struck!

"They have begun to fall back!" Such screaming is so dreadful! Elena covers her left ear, due to the sensitivity of the gurgling howls of pain from these Riders.

"They're leaving! Woo hoo! Yeah! Fuck those guys! But ow!" Elena shouted with cheer and raising her other fist a few times. I finally rest my arms by putting away my Glamdring and placing my staff under my arm, holding onto it. I placed my hands on her shoulders and give her a good shake and a scolding! "What have we talked about using such foul disgraceful language!" It is not rhetorical…!

"Waah whoa whoa! I get it! Sorry! Stop shaking me!" I swear, I feel as though I'm turning into a father taking care of her! Such stressful responsibility. First Middle-Earth, and now this young lady.

"Alright. I'm glad that you learn. But who was it helping us in our time of need?" I remove my hands from her shoulders and I fix my hat. I see a white steed with a figure riding out.

"Gandalf who is that?" We continue to ride out toward them. "I think that's the guy who shot those fire arrows at the Nazgul. Is he cool though?" I now know what she means when she says cool in this context.

"I believe so." We ride up to him and I recognize this elf. "Quickly Elena. Hide your ears with your hair and leave your eyes closed! Open them once you feel as though your eyes are normal." I fix her hair quickly and push it on her ears. "It's okay Gandalf. My eyes aren't hurting anymore, but are they back to normal?"

I look back to her eyes and I smile. I can conclude that once the Black Riders are gone, her eyes return to her childish brown ones. I still try to fix her hair as I see the mysterious rider coming and us closing the distance.

* * *

"Hey come on! I can do it!" I use my hands to try to make my hair at least presentable to our hero of the night. I was looking down fixing my ends and then I hear:

"Glorfindel. I haven't seen you in ages. How are you?" I look up to Gandalf and he smiles and I whip my head to see our hero for the night.

I laid my eyes on the very first elf I have seen and met. His hair is such a bright, shiny blonde, and he has the fairest skin I have ever seen. So clean and clear… and needs no control whatsoever I bet… Elves being so perfect and all. And he glows such a soft light… I was in awe of his appearance. He has such a slim frame, but I can tell he's tall and strong. It shows through his brown tunic outfit. It's similar to mine, but masculine. His blue eyes are enchanting… his facial expression right now to me, is that he is making a soft smile to Gandalf and then me.

You know, you barely… I mean barely see him in the movies, even though he is in the books more, but I'm glad to have some interaction with this guy.

"Yes, it has been quite some time. I have been looking for you for the past few days. I have been alerted by Lord Elrond's foresight that you were being followed by the Dark Lord's Black Riders."

"And we whole-heartedly express our gratitude with your help. Quite the excellent timing you have arrived. They were not planning on leave us any time during that chase."

"And who is the elleth that you have with you?" Glorfindel then turns to me again. His eyes locking on mine. Shit, I know what 'elleth' means, and what that means to me, either I didn't hide my left ear good enough, or I smell like an elf. I hear Gandalf clearing his throat. I think he's nervous too.

"This is Elena. She and I have been traveling together for some time now. We are on our way to Rivendell."

"Hi there. It's great to meet you. As Gandalf says, I am Elena." I did a little bow… I don't remember if elves shake hands or not. Glorfindel takes his right hand and puts it over his heart and then extends it out to me. I shouldn't use greetings like they do here in Middle-Earth… what the Hell would I say? 'I'm Elena, daughter of Maya and Juan of Mexico?' Whatever!

"Greetings Elena. It is a pleasure. I am Glorfindel of Rivendell." After his greeting, he raised an eyebrow. "Elena…hmm… seems to be a little of an odd name for an elleth. It seems more of a name for the Race of Men. Where do you hail from?"

"Um…" Oh fudge popsicles… never made a background story…

"Let's talk about this once we reach Rivendell. Let us be gone from this area, for in case the Dark Lord may send out more assassins out to us.

The golden-haired elf simply turned his horse around to face out towards the direction of where we need to go. So we began riding out.

We didn't say much once it hit daybreak. I remember not to talk about my situation out loud to Gandalf because elves have such amazing hearing… as I remember from that screechy gurgly sound that the stupid ass Nazgul did…

Gandalf let me sleep, or at least tried to rest my eyes and body, on Shadowfax whenever the horses were walking. We had a long night. I can hear them talking though, so I guess my fake sleeping is pretty good…

"Where does she hail from Gandalf?" Glorfindel questioned. I wish I could open my eyes to see their expressions.

"All questions concerning this elf will be answered when I speak with Lord Elrond. I am afraid that I cannot answer any questions concerning Elena until we reach Rivendell. I don't want anyone to have an presumptuous thoughts about her until he and I make it clear to all."

Awwww, Gandalf has my back.

I hear the elf sigh. "Alright Gandalf. Knowing you, you shall not talk if you do not wish it." Accepting defeat so easily? Jesus… if it were back in LA, you wouldn't be able to avoid the subject with my friends. They'd be trippin' balls and dick with asking a ton of questions and think of witty comments to get you to talk while talking about how stupid your secrecy is.

Ahhh… good friends… I miss them…

I sigh in my 'sleep', but I don't get up just yet. I think I'm better off leaning on Gandalf than lowering myself onto Shadowfax's neck.

I am so lazy! I stay 'asleep' for a while and I decide to get up for what seems like, a little late afternoon, eveningish.

"Welcome back. How did you sleep?" Gandalf pats my back. "It was okay. Thank you for letting me rest up."

"It was no problem at all, Child. Get some peace while you can." I just smile and stretch out my chest and arms.

"Are we any closer to Rivendell yet?" I said while rubbing my eyes. When I was done, Gandalf I think examined my face, more like my eyes. I just smiled and winked. He chuckled a low toned one.

"What is it that you are both laughing at?" Oh yeah. Elf-Dude is still with us.

"Oh, Elena has a disgusting habit of unleashing saliva while she slumbers. She had a little river of it trailing out of the corner of her mouth." Gawd damn it Gandalf!

"Gandalf! Don't embarrass me!" I wipe the heck out of my mouth. Okay so I do have a problem… My mom has been mentioning it to me for a long time now…

After I was done, I hear this amazing sound, it I turn to see Glorfindel having a soft laughter as well….

Are elves just so fucking perfect? That kinda pisses me off… maybe cause I'm a little bit of a hater too…

"So ungraceful, but it is adorable." Oh jeeze. I just blush and just look away.

"What…ever! But thanks, I guess…" I just smirk and turn back to him.

I felt like I was just the subject of teasing for a couple of days. Gandalf would tell him stories of how 'ungraceful' I was then retaliating with how scruffy Gandalf looks when he wakes up in the morning.

"And he gets mad at me when I say something stupid!" I laugh and cross my arms, pretending to pout.

"Well someone has to make sure you are socially acceptable." Gandalf smirks and I just roll my eyes.

"You both seem as if you were father and daughter or very good friends." The elf of the group couldn't help but to smile along with us.

Gawd, we just can't stop smiling! Heh. I do that to people…

"Yeah, I guess you could say that. He's been like this since he found me." You know… now that I think about it… he has been like a dad to me…

"And she has been a burden ever since! I have adopted a child whom I don't have the heart to be rid of." Gandalf just pats my head and I just stick my tongue out in my silliness.

"I told you I'd be stuck to you like an excellent adhesive!"

"I admire your relationship. I also haven't seen an elf with so much energy and such a connection to an Istari. It's quite inspiring." Damn, this elf is just full of compliments. I wish more men back home were this respectable and honest.

He's really nice though and not a bad looker. I wonder what the other elves look like…

We continue riding for the day, and Glorfindel sharing his stories about Rivendell and even some when he was fighting a balrog back in the First Age.

"Wow Glorfindel! You are seriously… seriously brave! I can never do that!" I was seriously wowed by this guy… er- elf! I mean, he's brave, and he has absolutely no scars whatsoever.

I know this guy is absolutely amazing, but I guess I do wonder sometimes why he didn't join the Fellowship later on. I think something about, even his powers wouldn't do, or Gandalf told him not to, or Legolas was already representing the race of Elves or whatever. You know what though, if he's amazing enough to battle it out with a Balrog, maybe it is best he stays behind in case he has to protect Rivendell or something.

We had been traveling non-stop with the exception of one night because I practically begged just for a few hours at least to actually lay down and sleep. They both called a name… I forgot what it was called, but I know it wasn't nice… calling me a wuss or whatever. Then it happened. Again…

Last time I knew it happened when Frodo was in Bree… this time, I knew he was at Weathertop, just a few days behind us. When it happened in Bree, at the Prancying Pony, when he had the ring on at the bar. That's where I saw him on the floor just scooching away, and then he saw me, or I saw him and we froze. I waved and he waved back. It was odd… I was the first to say hi and he didn't say anything. "My name is Elena. I'm really a nice girl when you get to know me. Please don't be afraid. I'm just… well, you won't believe me now, but I'm just an ordinary girl. Please believe me." I kneeled before him and he relaxed a little even though this world is so grey, scary, and dark… I was scared shitless. "I'm here, and I will try to help you as much as I can. I may be no one to you right now, but I will help you. Please believe me." He just nodded to me. I hoped he trusted me back then too. "Please take off the ring Frodo, and believe me, you can trust Strider." He didn't say anything to me at all, but he nodded again. "I'll do my best to help and maybe even protect you… until next time." I think I heard a nervous 'thank you'. Then he took off the ring, and I was pulled back into darkness and opened my eyes to see the Istarian.

Gandalf said I was only out for a few minutes and then I came back as if it was nothing. We still don't know why I was actually able to see Frodo.

After that quick memory, I completely passed out… Last thing I felt was the soft short fur and long haired mane of Shadowfax and hearing Gandalf and Glorfindel yelling my name.

* * *

I woke up from wherever I was off of the ground and I already see him running.

"FRODO!" I see him turn running and I run toward him. The five remaining Nazgul are already ganging up on him. "Get away from him you freaks!" I stop to stand right in front of him while he curls up on a rock trying to scoot away.

"Elena please! Run away! You can't do anything here!" He spoke to me this time.

"No! I try okay! I'm trying to but you some time!" I just run toward the riders, and I don't know why, I can try to push them away, but the shitty thing is that they aren't budging at all and the weird thing is they aren't trying to harm me. Is it because I'm the vessel? I keep trying but they aren't moving. I go back to Frodo. "Frodo! Take off the ring! Please take it off and run!" I'm just trying to move the Witch-King away, but he isn't doing anything to me until he takes the sheath of his sword and with a powerful push, he sends me flying to another rock where I actually hurt myself on my shoulder. I could sense blood is trickling down.

"Ow!" I hiss in pain. I can actually get hurt here? But my body isn't even here!

"Frodo! Take off the ring and run away! I'll see you soon!" But he was just there like a deer in headlights. Then the Witch-King used the morgul blade and stabbed him… Frodo screamed in pain.

He yells in pain until the Nazgul leader took out the blade. "NOOOOOOOOO! Frodo! Take it off! Please!" I was too late. I thought I could have stopped Frodo from getting hurt so he wouldn't have to suffer that wound for the rest of his life…

"Elena!" He yells to me and he looks toward me huffing and groaning in pain. He looks like a scared in child… Then I see that white figure fighting off the former kings. It's Aragorn! "Frodo quickly! Take it off!"

"Will… I see you… again!?" He struggles to reach for his hand to take off the ring.

"Yes! I promise! Take the damn ring off!" I just pointed at him and he did.

* * *

Everything… my vision went black, and I felt I physically opened my eyes only to be met with the brightness of the sun annoyingly greeting me. I see the faces and torsos of Glorfindel and Gandalf… When did they get up in the sky? Oh wait…

I use my hand to block the brightness of the sun of my suffering eyes. "I'm okay. I'm fine." I struggled to get up, but I felt so sore. I felt the assistance of the both of them going under my arms to help me sit up, to what I'm assuming is the ground.

"You had terrified me Elena. Did it happen again?" I guess Gandalf already knows what happened to me. Glorfindel looked at us both in question.

"What just happened here? I don't understand what just occurred here. What do you mean it happened again?" He looks to us with worried eyes.

Gandalf hands me his skin pouchy thingy so I can get a swig of water. "I saw the Ringbearer. He just got stabbed by the Morgul blade by the Witch-King. The remaining Nazgul found them on Weathertop… I couldn't protect him. When he took off the ring, Strider was already fighting them off. He'll be in good hands. I know it." I wanted to throw or break something really hard. I couldn't protect him at all. Was it fate or my weakness that still got him stabbed?

"This is utterly wrong. So dreadful." Gandalf stood up. I know he's stressed. Poor Frodo… I tried… but I'm just an administrative assistant. I have nowhere near the skills built for this sort of thing. I was pretty fucking crazy already trying to get in the way of the Nazgul!

Glorfindel help me up but as I used the arm that Gandalf was on the side of, I felt pressure of the pain and I see the bloodstain that is on my tunic. "Gandalf, she is hurt!"

"Oh fudge'ems. I really did get hurt." Well, I don't want to take off my tunics or anything. Might as well just tie something on top to… oh… Glorfindel beat me to it.

"There. This should hold until you get to the House of Elrond." He tied a simple cloth strap around my arm so it wouldn't bleed anymore. "Thank you. I very much appreciate this. I really do." He just smiled at me. "Please. Think nothing of it. I was sent here by Lord Elrond to assist the both you." I smiled back to him. He was readying his horse, Asfaloth. I then started to walk over to Gandalf as he was staring out behind us. "Gandalf, after the stabbing, he's going to live. I promise you. Lord Elrond will heal him in time. In the meantime, we have to get to Rivendell. I have to keep up with the fates…" I whispered with that last part. I patted his back and he looked down at me and just nodded his head. "Yes… you are right. You must keep the future as stable as possible."

I started at him with sad eyes. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect him. I'm so sorry…" He just nodded his head again and placed a hand on my shoulder and went to Shadowfax.

I walked over to Glorfindel as he got back onto his horse. "I need you to do me a huge favor…" I started to pet Asfaloth. "Both of you."

"What is it?" He questions me, but I can see the skepticism in his eyes now. I guess this is what I get since Gandalf and I haven't told him what's going with us…

"Please find four Hobbits and Strider. You know of the man of whom I speak of. They are fleeing from Weathertop right now. Among the hobbits, one of them is very much hurt. Please find them and bring at least Frodo to the safety of Rivendell. I'll explain everything and tell you the truth once I see you in Rivendell. I promise you. The truth is all I have in payment to you. Plus, I guess if you have any chores for me to do for you, I can help you out." I smiled with anxiety because I don't know if he really believes me this time. He did raise his eyebrow when I mentioned Strider. I didn't want to call him Aragon in case somebody is nearby who can hear us.

"I trust you are of good character, and any friend of Gandalf the Grey is a friend to the elves. No need to do my work, but the truth is all I ask for. I will do this for you and seek them out." He places a hand on my shoulder. "Please get to Rivendell quickly and seek a healer. I will see you in a fortnight."

"We will see you in Rivendell, and don't be late. I would like to see if everything will be alright with the young lad." I turn around and there was Gandalf on Shadowfax. He extends his hand to me and this time, I'm riding behind him. Good… I'll drool on him some more when I sleep!

"Mithrandir, you have my word, I will bring the hobbit named Frodo to Lord Elrond in time. I will depart. I wish you both a safe journey." He then gallops away urging Asfaloth to ride with haste. I wonder… in the movie it's Arwen who gets to the group… in the books, its Glorfindel... Did I make it the book's path just now for sending Glorfindel? I'm so confused on which path this future is going to be!

"Gandalf, are you mad at me?" Shadowfax starts to gallop as well. I guess we shouldn't lose any time when it comes getting to Lord Elrond.

"No I am not. I am only distressed about what you have told me about Frodo. I do believe you when you say he is going to be fine, and I have even thought of the possibility of us going back there to find him as well, but we need our rest as well, and I feel as though, I know, that you know, that they will be safe with him. Another reason why we cannot go back, because that is just another chance for the Nazgul to try and take you away. With you having no fighting skills whatsoever, I and the other two cannot guard the four hobbits and you." That's true. I believe that. This is a search and rescue mission for the hobbits and not a search and destroy for the Riders. "We shall keep going this way. I can see that we still have about two weeks until we get there. Possibly sooner if we take less to no rest."

"Let's get to it then! I can't wait to meet everybody! Lord Elrond, Arwen, Ar—Estel, and then may be the twins! Holy fuck. I'm gonna meet the hobbits!" I snuggle and nuzzle Gandalf's back in my excitement! This is better than meeting the actual actors, because whether you fall in love with the characters of a book in this case the movie, you don't fall in love with the actor… it's… duh! The characters themselves!

Oh what a world I have been living in now!

Uh-oh. I'm in trouble. He just told Shadowfax to stop galloping. Now the Horse Lord is merely walking.

"Language Elena! Goodness! No one is going to ever want to travel with you if you keep this terrible habit of yours. How can one say such words of taboo so easily in whatever mood you are in? It just means you don't have sufficient vocabulary to fully express yourself." I feel through his back that he scoffs.

I just smirk as I lean on his back, one cheek pressed on his back. "Gandalf, believe it or not, I do understand that my certain word choices can offend others, but they don't kill you. Back in my world, there are still plenty of people who are offended by it, so I don't use it with them. But there are also plenty of people as well that find it perfectly fine. To me, the words are perfectly fine to express almost any mood that I'm in. In my world, we use them in songs, books, and in speech when appropriate. I use it among my friends, but more of the lighter swear words in all good fun with my family. Plus it's a lotta fun! Woo! Plus, I love offending people I hate. Like Saruman. Heehee…"

"Well yes, that is all well in good, but do keep trying to minimize that speech. I, unfortunately, am getting used it. Matter of fact, I do not think you would be yourself if you don't use such foul language, because you use it so casually… hmpf!"

"Fine! I'll lighten up. I also don't want a grumpy wizard to hang around either! But I love seeing your grumpy face! You remind me of my adorable daddy when he pouts. He's older now, heading into his 70's, so when he pouts… he's so cute! I just want to squeeze those cheeks and say", I reach from behind and pinch Gandalf's cheeks, "its okay Daddy! Never fear! Your ungraceful silly daughter is here!"

Then I feel a smile forming on his face and he does that 'oh ho ho' laugh he does. Then she shakes his head to signal me to take my hands off of his cheeks. "Alright then. Do as you wish as long as you consider others and consequences that can occur with your behavior."

"I know. I know… it's like that with every single person no matter where you are in life." I smile and I lean on his back. It's getting dark and I'm already tired.

"Hey Gandalf?"

"Hmm?"

"I miss my family a lot. I miss my friends… I miss everything about my home."

"I feel your heart's sadness, Elena. Anyone would miss their home and all familiarity around them. I know you have many disadvantages being here in this world compared to yours, but so far it seems you are adapting well, at least considering you are kind, sweet, outgoing, and willing to talk to anyone."

"Please. I have no survival skills. The only times I ever use anything sharp is when I'm cutting food to cook with! I don't know how to trail anything or anyone, look for food, hunt, or whatever… I can barely run. I'm not even a physically fit person… half-elf… whatever I am. Here people use swords, bows and arrows, knives, and magic. My world, heh, no such thing as magic, only in a metaphorical sense. Bows and arrows, as a sport. Swords? We never had a use for them since we have harsher weapons than here. People collect them and place them like decorations… instead of magic, we have science. People discover and experiment to learn and make life easier. Here? I don't belong here… I just don't. I don't have anybody here."

I feel him take a deep breath and lets it out. "My Dear Elena. You come from a world that is currently beyond my comprehension. But people who want to live, usually have the same thing, which is culture. We always desire to go back to what we know, but if we don't like it, we leave it or change it. Such is the beauty of free will." I feel him share another light laughter with me "And I don't think you are doing too bad. We can train you in the basics to help you survive. I don't think I would want to protect you ever single second of my life either. You must learn to help yourself and help others in case there is a time where I may not be there while you are still in this world."

"Really!? You will!? Oh my God!" I hold onto his robes by my index finger and thumb and move them up and down in my excitement.

But I guess he's right… there is going to be a time when Gandalf won't be by my side. What am I going to do once that time comes? Who is going to help me with this whole Dark Lord inside me shit? People might shun me once they find out what I am!

I don't want to go to Rivendell anymore…

I let go of his robes, but my thoughts are shaken.

"Yes. And you must keep it up and never quit. If you don't quit, I'll purchase you something nice." Ha I wish I could see his face.

You know, he's like a dad to me since I've been here. Taking care of me, gives me advice, sets boundaries, scolding me, rewarding me, disciplining me, wakes me up in the mornings, and we have fun. I pout, cry, laugh with him, get mad, yell, smile, and react like I would if it were my dad. But cooler…

I didn't have the best relationship with my dad, so I would rather think of Gandalf as a grandpa to me. My dad was cool, money hungry, but he's alright.

"Sweets! I want sweets!" I can't help it.

Always remember, no matter what age you are, even if you're twenty-eight like me with a successful career, you can act however you want. Never believe you have to act like an adult just because you are an adult.

Even adults can fuck-up, be stupid, not have anything to say, get excited about something, become nostalgic, be cranky, and immature… whatever you want… as long as you try to not look stupid, but sometimes that's fun too, depending on the situation.

Oh you'll figure it out when you grow up, but good luck actually explaining it!

"Alright alright. You sound just like a child, but I bet that is just one of the great 'charms' you have about yourself." He just pft me!

"My freaking charm! I just hope I'll do okay. Plus I haven't done any real physical activity since my early twenties when I had to fullfil requirements to finish my education… ugh… I hated running a mile…" I chuckle aloud. "And the entire time, we've been walking and running twenty miles… I guess I came a long way… I didn't even realize it." I start examining myself… "Hey! I lost weight! Yeah!" my arms and legs are thinner. "Hey Gandalf! I'm gonna need an upgrade of wardrobe!" I would never have been able to do this back home! Never ever had any time for exercising at home.

Whoops, lost my train of thought.

"You have the stamina and endurance, at least building it up, to be able to defend yourself."

"I guess that's a start. I'll do my best. I'll complain, but do my best. It's only natural for me." I smirk.

"Just don't do it too loudly. Even the elves can be sensitive to the volume of your howls of complaints." I just pat his back. "Hey!" Then I did the kind of did a 'you know what, you're right' face. "Okay, I'll try."

"Let's get to it Grandpa. I wanna see everybody…" I smirk. I wonder if he'll let me call him that. My grandparents died when I was eight, and they were kinda old, so I didn't know them or interacted with them very well. Plus, I'm pretty attached to Gandalf now… Like I said, my father wasn't exactly father of the year. I am the way that I am due to the nurturing of my mother and the cultures around me of course.

"Oh I'm Grandfather to you now?" Eek. Didn't get away with that one…

"It's just because you're old! That's all…" Damn… I hope he doesn't think I'm weak or anything.

"That is true. I am old in your eyes. But if you feel the need to call me grandfather, or grandpa, I wouldn't stop you. I have been gaining a paternal instinct since you were just a little sphere of light. You have been like a baby since we've been traveling together. And before you say anything, remember I am two thousand years old."

Right… right… I lean into him. I'm feeling sleepy. "Do you think the elves in Rivendell will like me? Especially Lord Elrond?"

"They may need some time to warm up to you, but otherwise, I believe if you just be yourself, they will create a friendship."

I yawn. "Now go to sleep. You may be half-elven, but you are still easily tired as a member of the race of men."

"Thanks. I'll get to get some shut eye then. Let me know when you need a break yourself. I don't want you cranky, Old Man." I wrap my arms around his torso and close my eyes. "Let's go! I'm wishing that when I open my eyes, I'll be in Rivendell."

"Think as you like. I'm a wizard, not a creator. Come, Shadowfax, we're done talking now. Let us make haste!" Shadowfax nays and he starts galloping fast!

"Whoa! Shadowfax! I totally owe you one buddy!" Shadowfax makes a sound, which sounds like in total agreement. Maybe I can get him an apple?

I'm too sleepy to think right now…

* * *

"Elena. It is time to awaken. We have arrived. Also you are drooling on my robe again."

"Gah! Sorry! Man, such a nasty habit! Anyway, it's because I'm sleeping sitting up! Gravity does it to me…" I whip awake due to my embarrassment and quickly start rubbing my mouth dry.

We hop off of Shadowfax and we bid him farewell for now. "Bye Shadowfax. Thanks for always saving us, especially from the Nazgul. Be careful when you head back to your lands, okay. I'll miss you." I hug his neck and gave him a quick scratch behind his ear. Then he actually wrapped his neck around me… awww horse hug!

"Until next time, friend." Gandalf pats him on the back and thanks him and he then gallops away from us.

"Ahhhhh, I feel good." I said stretching out my arms. I then start doing leg stretches, standing and leaning down, leaving my leg stretched out as I reach for my toes. I'm doing basic stretching so that I can ready myself for the walk. We stopped at the river where I recognize that Frodo would be with or without Glorfindel.

"Coming along, Elena?" Huh? I look around and Gandalf is already far from me. Gotta jog it.

"Coming… Granddad!" I stuck out my tongue in silliness. Is it weird that I honestly see him as a paternal figure? He's like… I don't know, but throughout our journey together, I've been really attached to him.

Is he singing now? Sounds happy.

"Gandalf? Are we almost there?" I'm trudging through the steep hill that we are climbing making sure I don't slip on the damp looking autumn leaves.

"Yes we are. We are very very close. Since you do appear to be a half-elf, do you sense anything?" I see him trudge up. I guess he found a long stick to use to help him up.

"Nah. If anything, my chest feels heavy. Like, I can feel… oh I don't know how to describe it. As if it's a dark screen wanting to envelop me? I'm really bad a describing things… I'm fighting it Gandalf. I really am. Nothing is different. It's not easier nor harder, just still there. I wonder…" I slow down my pace… "I wonder if I can… access the power that's in me. Since it's only Morgoth's energy, maybe I can use it? He's still in the void right?"

"Do not use his power. Whatsoever. It will only corrupt you in the end." That is all he said and kept walking.

But if I can use it… access it… use it against Sauron… I'll be a better asset… I'll try it. I really want to. And like the rebellious 'granddaughter of Gandalf', I will.

"Ow." I rubbed my stomach. Weird. It felt like I was just slapped there. Okay, seriously… what are these random pains!? I've been getting them since I first got here! So annoying and painful… bleh…

After what seemed like hours, we finally reached the top.

Good God… is it ever beautiful.

Platform is of a smooth stone.

Stylish beams on each side of the entrance.

Such marble, feldspar, quartz, limestone, ahhhhh such strong stones… okay. So I like rocks.

We walk into the middle of the circled stoned platform and there he was at the top of the steps…

Lord Elrond… totally not Hugo Weaving… totally not. He's so tall, his elven ears exposed, his long hair perfectly in his hairdo… his robes are so handsome and elegant on him. Definitely… definitely shows he is of high status… I'm actually feeling a little intimidated by him. I try to organize my hair to make sure I hid my ears.

Oh man! I look terrible! I probably smell bad too! Eeeeee…. I feel groady… I need a bath… a cleansing!

Last minute I decided to hide behind Gandalf. Remember! I'm a kid compared to the ages to everyone here!

"What are you doing? Do not disrespect Lord Elrond. Come out and say hello." He just drags me out in front but I look down on the ground. "But Gandalf! I smell! I look horrible! I can't meet him like this! I am such a disgrace right now!" I loudly whispered.

"Don't be afraid, Child. You are in good company. Welcome to Rivendell." I slowly look up into his eyes. He is a handsome elf. Plus very fatherly. I remember how I read and watched how he would talk to Arwen.

"Greetings Lord Elrond. My name is Elena. It is a really really… really great honor to meet you." I just bowed slowly. Gandalf then nudges me to start walking up the stairs. I look down to watch my feet go up the steps. Once I reach the top, I look up at Lord Elrond. Yup… he is taaaaaaaalll.

"Please do not worry. Welcome to my house. From the look that is upon Gandalf's face, I can see that we have much to discuss."

"That would be wise. Let us be off." Gandalf started to follow Lord Elrond, but I kinda stayed behind a bit… I started to do that shy request action that is favored by me because I hate asking for shit…

I hold my hands behind me, use the ball of my foot to twist the light layer of dirt that is under it, and sway my hips a little.

"Lord Elrond… before we do anything, please grant me a simple request…" I look up to him.

"Yes, Elena. What would that be?" He scrunched his eyebrows, but gave me a small smile.

"May I please… please…" I bring my hands up in a sort of begging motion "get cleaned up, have temporary clothes so I can wash the ones I'm wearing, and just kick back? I need a cleansing after everything that Gandalf and I have been through with the dirt, and fighting Nazgul, and the walking, and the running… I could really use it… I've been through a lot. And I a lot for a girl like me…"

Must be rid of the groady feeling and feel human again…elf… half-elven again… I feel so gross…


	5. I'm Cool Once You Get To Know Me…

DISCLAIMER: I no own anything of Tolkien related. LOTR or LOTR worlds etc. Nor the songs "Days Go By" by Dirty Vegas and "Reunited" By Peaches and Herb.

NO BETA! I NO USE BETA OKIE? But it is pretty good that you can make sense of it yourself. I know my PUNCTUATION IS BAD. If you would like to help me, PLEASE PM ME with a link to help me out. Please only review what you think of the story. :]

Sorry about this chapter. It's slow and it is long. This just happens to dive into the relationship that Gandalf and Elena share. So sorry if you think that Gandalf is OOC. I'm pretty bad into getting into thought patterns lol.

This is strictly POV only- First it is Elena, then Layla, then Elena again.

Since it is POV, there will be FRAGMENTS! After all, people's thoughts don't normally form complete, essay form thoughts. That'd be just weird. Lulz. You know the drill.

There might be some OOC, but hey it's a fanfic right? It's okay to tweek personalities here and there.

I know my fic is long, but yeah… sorry for the extreme slowness and longness…

Please enjoy Eff My Life!

* * *

Chapter 5: I'm Cool Once You Get To Know Me…

Let me tell you… lemme tell you…

A real bath… not some quick rinse with a piece of cloth soaked in a river, but A REAL BATH!

It is… FUCKING… AMAZING!

"Woooooooooooooooooooo!" I splash around in it.

I hold my breath, and my nostrils together, I dunk myself and come back up. I

"This feels so goooooooooood!" Damn! All these oils and herbs that Elrond let me use… my skin is exfoliated, my hair is clean and I feel as though I have lost ten years and ten pounds… only because I feel as though that's how much dirt, oil, and skin flakes have come off.

I haven't had a decent bath like this since Bree, and even then, that was shit compared to this!

I calm myself down and take a deep breath again, and I just sink into the tub.

I just lay there… it's really very peaceful… sounds are blocked, the water is all over me surrounding me in comfort… I open my eyes underwater, and they don't hurt. Friendly oils and herbs… I know that's a tagline for this sort of thing… 'no tears' elven herbs and oils. I couldn't help but pft to that underwater…

I hear footsteps coming into the bath chambers. I come out of the water and put my head and hands on the rim of the tub.

"Elena? You have been in there for over an hour. Come out and put your clothes on. I have laid out some old dresses for you to pick out when you're ready."

I heard Arwen yelling from the little room that is before the bathing chamber. It's like, Arwen's private bathroom up in here. Vanity room and then tub area. I like that floor plan.

"Sorry Arwen! It's just been the best bath I've ever had during my travels!" Must… not… swear… its fan-fucking-tastic! That's what I want to say…

I hear a soft laughter from her side of the room, but it echoed to me. "That is quite alright, Elena. I understand. Father said that you may have your meeting with him tomorrow. He knows the hardships from your travels from Gandalf."

"Yes! I can have peace and relaxation…" When I first got here, Lord Elrond, looked up at me up and down and he gave me a nod of his head. Gandalf teasing me nodded in agreement and waved a hand in front of his face making it look like he thought I stunk… I just playfully glared at him and blamed him for my poor hygiene.

Lord Elrond had actually asked Arwen to look after me. I was surprised really, thinking that I was going to be accompanied by some other random elf-person. I have no idea really… maybe because I was with Gandalf that I'm somebody special? Or maybe she is a spy for her ada!

Dun dun duuuuuuun!

I come out of the tub and grabbed for what felt like a towel, because well, I guess it is, but it doesn't look like one… oh how the elves live. I grab for two. One for my hair, and the other to dry the rest of my body. Once that was done, I wrapped the long towel around me and proceeded to dry my hair.

"How long have you been traveling with Gandalf?" She asked through the room. I got closer to it in the middle of drying.

"For about a month and half I suppose and I never had a decent bath!" I continue to towel dry my hair, and funny thing is… it's already almost dry… this thing really absorbs water no doubt about it. I grabbed for a new bandage and tied it around my arm where my injury was. It wasn't so bad really. Gushed at first, but now its already clot. Hooray.

I hear her soft laughter again. Once I was done drying my hair, which is completely dry now, I go and see her. She shows me two dresses.

Yay… dresses… must… not… show… pickiness…

"Oh wow! They are beautiful, Lady Arwen. Are you sure I can wear them?" I was really taken aback though. Such feminine dresses with embroider edges of line/curved designs. I don't even care for the color of the other dress, but I pay attention to the dark blue one. It's really quite simple and dashing. Long fitting sleeves with bell cuffs. One of my favorites. Makes my hands look prettier if you ask me. I pay attention to these details since I absolutely love to dress up in Lolita cosplays.

"Of course you can. The seamstresses have all but gone home to be with their families. I do believe this blue dress will fit you nicely. And how did you get your hair to be blue? I see you have some grouped hair lines underneath the surface." Ahh yes… I raise up my hair from the sides to expose some of my blue streaks. They are about half an inch away from the scalp now, but they still look nice.

"This I got back home. My mom's friend did it for me. It's uh… intense dying of your hair you know? Kinda like with clothes…" With bleach and hair dye… chemicals that I don't think even discovered in this world…

"That's quite unique. I really do love it. I can sense that the blue shades are to your favor?" How can you not. I smile at her and she hands me the blue dress.

She is very beautiful. On the surface, any male would fall to her feet. She's really nice and ladylike… shit I'll never because I'm… you guessed it…

Uh-mazing!

"Thank you so much. I really do appreciate this. Do you mind if I wash my clothes tomorrow? I seriously need to just, take a break…" I don't want to work hard right now. I want to play hard or you know….sleep hard!

"Oh Elena. One of the caretakers of this house will see to it. Please don't worry. I know you have had a very long and hard journey, so please relax." She pats my back. "I'll be waiting outside as you get into this dress. After that, I will show you to your room."

"Thank you." Such grace… elves have grace… I have some… or not… ehhhhh…

You know, it's pretty easy to get into this dress. I just put it over my head, and the opening is pretty wide, so no need for tying or zipping… but fudge popsicles…. My imperfections are showing a bit…

It's tight around my tummy… stupid little poochy pouch… at least I can breath and, I bend down to pretend I'm sitting, and yes! I can sit… I can assume Arwen has a flat stomach… lucky…

I slip on what seems to be like ballet flat shoes. Dark blue simple shoes. They sort of feel like, a good hug for my feet. Hella comfortable. Love it! I wonder if she'll let me have'em…

I look at the length of this dress. It's quite slimming, but I do the twirl test… I feel like a princess… I haven't felt that in about two decades… kiss my ass media award ceremonies!

I found my wristlet pouchy bag still attached to my shoulder strap. That thing has been with me through everything. I have only used my mp3 player twice to listen to some songs that have always comforted me. I don't know how much juice I have left in that thing. Nor in my phone. Those have been off since I've been here. I wish I could recharge those things, but I'm really limited… plus I found my sunglasses in there too. They're a sportsy kind that reflect the person's face on the outside, but you can't see my eyes. Gandalf always said not to wear them in case somebody will see me and ask me too many questions…

But the sun is soooooo bright… stupid sun… my eyes… they suffer!

Anyway… I haul it over my shoulder and it rests on the opposite side. Even though my credit cards, cash, membership cards, and my ID are practically useless, but… I'm paranoid someone might steal this bag! You never know when I'm ready to go home, I can show up anywhere, so I gotta haves mi ID!

I come out and meet Arwen in the hallway. We chat about a few things, Rivendell and murals that we pass by. I asked her if she had seen someone named Layla. I give her description to her and Arwen just shakes her head.

"I'm afraid I haven't. No one has. Otherwise, news would have spread all over Rivendell that if a stranger had been through our parts, everyone would have heard about it."

I believe it. During of times of war, people would want to know who would enter in your territory. I already knew that Layla wouldn't be here anyway. I feel empty without her… seriously though… like an empty link. I already knew the answer to my question. And that's scary that I already knew…

Where could she be?

"Were you two separated on a travel? Who is she to you?" We had halted outside. It had just begun to get dark outside, and we are overlooking a beautiful view being shown under moonlight displaying all the flowers that have went to sleep, and I hear the waterfalls and it puts me at ease…

"She is a very good friend of mine. So good, that we have been called sisters even. I never had a sister, and we had grown up together since our adolescent time, and difficult to separate us, until now anyway." I smile and I start to reminisce about all of our dumbass times together. "Something forced us to be a part."

"I'm sorry to hear that. I do hope you find your friend. If she is as strong as you are, I'm sure she has found her way." She smiled a sympathetic one and laid her hand on my upper back. "May I know what drove the two of you apart?"

Shit… only one way to get out of this.

"Only if I have approval from your father. It's kind of a heavy subject to talk about…" I rub the back of my head nervous of her reaction. She takes back her hand and looks at me.

"I understand. I know in due time I will come to know about it." Tell that to any nosy person back where I live and they would give your such a hard time until your fess up.

"Thanks."

"I do want to ask you something." Uh oh… I turn my body to face her and lean on the stone rail. I move my head up in a way to say 'go on'.

"Since you have been here, you have only spoken in Westron. Yet, you haven't said a word in our native tongue. Why is that?" Double shit. Okay… truth will set me free… not all of it. I try to press my hair against my ears, pretending to look like I'm fixing it.

"I honestly don't know it. I can tell you more if I speak with your father first along with Gandalf. I just need him to hear this and I'd rather not say it twice… I don't mind if you're there though. If anything, it would be nice if more people know about me." I worry though, how she would react to someone like me…

"That sounds fair. My father and Gandalf are now resting. It can wait till tomorrow, I'm sure." She starts to extend her hand to express that we should keep walking. I start to follow her and it wasn't a long trip thankfully. I am sleepy. "Thank you so much for understanding Arwen. I won't do anything bad or weird or stupid! I promise!" I show my excitement a little.

"It's quite alright. I wouldn't want to talk about my burdens more than once in a short time." She stifled a giggle. These are your chambers. There is a nightgown ready for you to wear. I had a very nice time with you. It has been a pleasure meeting you and I hope to spend more time with you. I have never met an elf with so much energy quite like you other than my siblings."

Aw gee golly wiz! She's so nice… and my mom said royalty would never like me. Arwen is pretty cool though.

"Likewise Lady Arwen. Thank you and to your father of course for letting me stay here and for your hospitality. Seriously thank you so much." I slightly bowed to her and she placed a hand on my shoulder and I met eye to eye with her. "It is certainly no trouble at all. As from one elleth to another, we have to help each other in these dire times of darkness. And of course, any friend of Gandalf's is a friend to the house of my father. Until morning, I will see thee again. Have a goodnight." She smiled to me and I watch her leave.

Such grace. Like any other elf, she has this glow… damn elves are so magical…

I don't even think I have that glow… I'm not graceful… and ha… I know I don't walk with refined skills…

Meh, I can do it at work, because the motivation is that I'm paid to be professional… Right now, here in Middle-Earth, I just don't give a rat's ass.

I walk over to the window and really soak in the night view of this city… the architecture is definitely not what I'm used to back home. It is so much more creative, daring, bold… again, I suck at descriptions, but this how I feel. I'm speechless!

I yawn, but I wonder where Gandalf is. I feel weird not saying goodnight to him. Plus I bet he's talking to Lord Elrond too… not sleeping.

Damn… I wanna know what they are talking about now...

But I'm so damn tired though… this is going to be the most comfortable sleep I will have since being here in this country!

"This is best night ever." I slip off the dress and take off my flats and wear this long nightgown… and jump into bed… it's like a cloud! I snuggle into the pillow and drape the beautiful blanket over me…its only one blanket and I feel so warm and toasty.

Layla, I hope you are safe out there, wherever you are. Wherever that white light took you better be an amazing place. I'm doing okay in Rivendell. Goodnight.

* * *

I erected from my bed with urgency.

"Elena?" I said aloud. I heard her. I swear to all goodness I heard her.

I have that feeling in my mind and in my chest… it just washes over me with relief and content, but why?

I was just lying down in my bed resting when I had a headache and Haldir wanted to me rest. We had just finished having an evening picnic by one of the platforms during a break from one of his patrols. He walked me back to my room and suggested that I needed to lie down for a while and then he left.

He's so very sweet. So different from the men back home, but then again, Haldir is an elf.

I get off my bed, fixed up my yellow dress, and I rush through the halls heading straight towards my temporary guardians.

I arrived to the area where audiences wait for their presence. I asked a random elf-guard that I request the Lady of Light's presence and he leaves. After waiting for some time, I see that beautiful enchanting glow through the doors and ever the goddess that she is steps out slowly with the elf-guard behind her. She sees my worry face and signals me to come forward up the steps. I rush up the stairs and I give her a look of panic. She places her hand on my upper back and guides me through her doors to speak in private.

"Tell me Layla. What troubles you so? I sense that you have felt quite an energy right through you and have been expecting you." Maybe she felt it too?

_It is possible. It is rather not a presence, but as if it were a message._

She spoke to me in my mind. We walk through the halls and come to an area outside with Lord Celeborn waiting with a tray of tea already set out.

"Good evening Lord Celeborn. How are you?" He points to a chair to show me where I can sit. I take a seat on the chair and Lady Galadriel sits next to her husband.

I take a deep breath and just dive right into it. "The weirdest thing. I'm lying down and then I feel this sensation in my mind and in my heart. I felt her. A message maybe? That Elena is okay. But why did I feel this? I know how I felt when I felt it, but why? I haven't seen her for a month and a half, but all of a sudden, I know for a FACT that she is fine. She is actually in Rivendell! Why do I know this!?" I started to get my blood pumped and accidently raise my voice, but not on the level of rude. I put my arms on the table and my plastered on it.

I feel on of them stroke my hair gently. "It seems that it is definitely a message. I sensed a presence of something, that I do not know of, but it is the same sentiment that when I would send my minute conversations to Lord Elrond, but it was not directed to me, but it did intrude our realm. She thinks of you, Layla. This is perhaps the first time the message has actually been through to you. Perhaps because she has entered Imaldris, the enhancements of magic among the elves and earth have greatly aided her."

I slowly started to lift my head and I see their smiles. Lord Celeborn hands me a cup of tea and smiles. "This, everything that you see and experience here, is I can imagine, all very new to you. Though we do not know of your fate, we can aid you as much as we can for as long as you want. Please think of Lothlorien as your home."

Lord Celeborn… he can be pretty paternal when he wants to me.

"Thank you. I really do appreciate everything you both have done for me. Honestly, this has been the most amazing experience I have had in my life, with the exception of missing Elena. I have found such peace, an appreciation for nature, such a sense of community and I don't have to worry about such trivial things like I did back home. As a human, I can't feel all of these feelings that I'm having right now as an elf, and it is certainly out of this world." I smile and I hold both of their hands. "From the bottom of my heart, I thank you."

"And of course you thank us for letting you meet Marchwarden Haldir? Hmm?" I immediately blush. Lord Celeborn certainly can still tease a person. "Oh yes, our beloved Marchwarden… his work has not been decreasing, but I do see more of a smile on his face which hasn't happened in centuries." Lady Galadriel smiled, but then she has turned serious with worry. "If there is a time, if your destiny does come to an end and the opportunity to leave rises, would you come to leave us then? It is something to think about." She grasps my hand, but I just relax and smile.

I would miss my family, my friends, and technology! And sugar, but…

"I wouldn't leave Haldir. I won't leave him…" And I meant it.

I've been only dating him for a couple of weeks, but such a connection is established… such an attachment… He doesn't make me forget about my home or what or whom I'm missing… it's just… I can't picture my future without him… I just… I will cry, brood, even seem like I lost it at times, but I feel as though I really will if I lost Haldir…

The Lady before me smiles, but still seems to be feeling some anxiety as if she doesn't wholly trust my answer, but she accepts it for now. "I don't even know if Marchwarden Haldir feels the same way as I feel about him. I-" Lord Celeborn raises his hand to intercept me.

"Don't worry, Child. You both have only started your courtship. We only ask because you are from another world and we do not know if there will be way for you to return. In the mean time while you are here, keep developing your abilities, not only as an elf, but to take the time to discover what you really can do beyond that of an elf." He shifts in his seat and adjusts his robes. "We worry about our people and that includes you." He gives me a warmish smile… only because he is still so serious.

"I understand. Thank you again. I will be the best damn elf ever!" I quickly cover my mouth. "Sorry! Sorry! I'll be the best elf ever!" Lord Celeborn rolls his eyes but chuckles. I turn to see Lady Galadriel's expression and just happily shrugs. "At least so far that is the worst thing you have said since my lecture to you."Oh can the Lady of Light really lecture… I let go of my mouth and take a sip of my tea.

Oh. Rose tea with a hint of lemon? Hm… I guess it tastes good wherever I go.

"Now, it seems as though your spirits have been lifted up, why don't you have an archery lesson. You should go practice by yourself for a while. It may possibly help clear your head for a while."

I sighed. More work to do. Plus I can tell that Lady Galadriel sounds insistent in her voice. "Alright then." I got up from my chair and I embraced them both. "Thank you for listening to me."

"Not at all, Layla. Even our spirits need to relieve some burden for our minds to be set free. Come to us any time." Lady of the Light… she is way too awesome.

"Thank you. I'll probably go to bed once I'm done with practice and had a bath. I'll you both again soon!" I walk away and wave.

I rush over to the archery area. This how I practice my swift steps. I feel so nimble and light right now. I had to pick up my dress a bit so my legs really have the freedom. I can feel all the elves eyes' around me as I run on the paths. I couldn't help but to sing the tune to James Bond.

Hmph. I'm not sure, but I think a stick or a branch just slapped my stomach. Oh well.

It's really sad that I'm used to this… just feeling things make an impact on me but no pain at all.

I arrive to the archery plains and I carefully catch my breath.

"Fancy seeing you here tonight, Lady Layla." I whip around to see the owner of the voice. I pft and put a hand on my hip.

"Oh, I wouldn't say I was a lady. I back talk, swear, spit, belch, and have the worst informal speech ever spoken by elf, and you still call me a lady?"

The elf before me walks closer and enters my personal space. "You'll always be a lady in my eyes because even a proper lady gives a proper elf a challenge everyday and it makes it worthwhile." I blush.

"Oh Haldir…" He leans down and kisses me. Don't you just love it when your significant other surprises you after work? Least, his brothers have been giving him some more time off since he's been dating me. I better spend some more time with the three of them plus with some friends I have made on the side.

So delicious… and sweet.

We break apart from the kiss and he smiles. "What brings you here to the archery fields? I thought you had taken ill tonight." He cups my face and examines me. I just smile and I remove his hands from my face. I then told him about my sudden feeling of Elena and how I know for a fact that she is doing alright and in Rivendell, though I omit to him the conversation I had about my feelings for him.

"By Eru. Do you believe that she has become like you? Perhaps as a representation of our Creator?"

"That's the thing. I have no idea. It is the weirdest thing though. I know she is fine. I know she is doing okay. But that's ALL I know of her."

And holy shit! Considering the date today… she'll be coming here very soon!

That is if she joins the Fellowship… I have no idea if she really will though. Being with the Fellowship is a really dangerous mission! To go or not to go…

Well, if she isn't here in Lothlorien with the Fellowship, that just hopefully means she is staying in Rivendell with Lord Elrond… Now I know she isn't alone.

"Now I just wonder if I'll see her again. There is no way for her to communicate with me at an instant."

"There is always a way. Now that you know your friend Elena is doing just fine, let us hope that with time, we may figure out on what we can do next. You can relax your worries now." He brings me into a full embrace. It feels so good to be in the arms of the one you love…

Love?

Shit…

* * *

"Please do not take this in offense Elena. I am sure you are whole-heartedly a good person or half-elven as you are now, but in the consideration of my people, of all of Imaldris, I cannot have this evil stay here!"

"Lord Elrond, please! She is in control of what is inside her. Please believe in her for she is on the side of good, on the side of Middle-Earth."

Here we go.

It is the morning of the next day. After I had the best sleep I ever had since Gandalf and I left Bree, this is what I get into.

We just finished having a mini meeting with Lord Elrond. Gandalf and I have told him everything, from first being trapped at Isengard at the top of the Orthanc to having feelings of Morgoth in me, how we were being chased by the Nazgul and how it affected my eyes. Arwen is hiding somewhere in another room listening to everything. Lord Elrond said that she doesn't need to hear her conversation, but I promised her that she would learn the truth. Might as well, since well, the entire world is at stake here.

And I'm assuming it's because of little ole me.

"Lord Elrond. Please. I'm not on some murderous rampage. I know you don't want me here. I bet no one wants me anywhere near them once they find out I have energy belonging to you-know-who, but I'm not a full elf as you can see! Remember my ears!" I showed my ears to him in the beginning of the conversation and he was taken aback. Then I told him that I was from another world, and he was very surprised. Then Gandalf takes over on how he found me and what Saruman had said… I showed him my tattoo that's on my back by holding the bottom of where it ended on my dress and he looked down… then Lord Elrond flipped out.

Oh if I can only see Arwen's reactions that she had been nice and standing next to the very person who holds the Dark Lord Morgoth's energy…

I see him pacing back and forth in the room where we are talking. He is really pissed off…

"Lord Elrond please, even if you were to banish her from Imaldris, she is still a threat to the entire world, and the power she has will not discriminate." Gandalf begins to speak in the softest of whispers, "If the Dark Lord Sauron somehow gets a hold of her, how do we know that he won't target the Undying Lands? Or even unleash Morgoth from the void?"

Lord Elrond stalks over to a window and lays his hands on the sill. He takes one hand and rubs his forehead and breaths out a heavy sigh.

Oh shit now I'm scared… I'm scared of myself… Gandalf made me think… eeeeeee…. I'm getting goosebumps on my arms!

I raise my head and try to stand as tall as I could in my posture. Trying to appear authoritative, respected, that he should hear me out. I take a deep breath, but what was planned in my head, didn't not go so well in the real world.

Right when I breathed out, I started slouching my shoulders, hunching my back and I have a face on of panic and desperation. I see Lord Elrond turns around because of my heavy sigh.

"Lord Elrond. I completely understand, but please know something about me." I clap my hands together as if praying, but it shows emphasis in my words. I start to tear up and I can sense my voice will crack. "I am terrified. Beyond belief I am terrified. One minute, I was with my friends, at an event, like any other day. I did my work for the day, I went to a gathering, and when I thought I was about to go home, to my sanctuary, me and my friend were stripped away in mere minutes! Minutes! Everything that we have ever known, worked hard for, and loved were out of our grasp." Lord Elrond sees me take my hands and turn them into fists and trembling. "I have no secret connections, as far as I know, to this world. No reason for me to be here… until I got snatched away from my home. I'm not even in the same world as my family." I think I'm getting through to him. His eyes start to look sad or even pitying me. A tear still rolls down my face because, I am hurt. I am scared. I feel useless and a complete burden.

"Please. I just need help. If you want me to leave, I will leave, because I understand your fear. Even more so because you know what else is coming to your realm." Good I sparked something. He raised his eyebrows and his eyes wide again. His body now faces me and holds his hands together. Yep, you know I'm talking about The One Ring. "But please, don't drive me away just yet. If you really want me out, I will leave, just, let me better prepare myself to adapt to Middle-Earth and to find my friend, but I can't do it without your help and with your help at least, I can be less of a burden on Gandalf or whoever I end up traveling with, because Gandalf doesn't have too." I sighed and I really let him have it. Gandalf laid a hand on my shoulder almost as if he's sending me assurance that he wouldn't leave me alone. I smiled at him then I looked back at Lord Elrond as I was pleading, but with a bargaining chip.

"I know you have the gift of foresight. I know what ails you and who is waiting for you in the Undying Lands. I know a few things that will happen to 'the ring'," I did the air quotes, "and it's going to happen anyway whether you kick me out or let me stay. You know it's all up to the ringbearer… and even your foresight cannot see everything…" I gulped at that last part. I just basically said that I see shit that he can't.

Lord Elrond just stared at me and he rubbed his eyes. After what felt like hours, but it was really only seconds cause I'm impatient, he nods slowly. He puts his hands down to his sides, and has the look on his face of firm authority.

"I see. I understand then. You may remain here until I see fit for you to leave, but do not share your bad luck onto us. This burden is for you alone, but I will help you in any way I can. With the exception of the Nazgul, you have had no other negative consequence follow you nor did I sense anything follow you."

I was too excited by his decision that I accidently looked like I was about to pounce on him for a hug, but I held myself back. "Seriously! Thank you! Thank you! Before arriving to Middle-Earth, I never walked for more than four hours in a day, but here I am walking for days at a time, and even riding a horse! I have never done that before! I am completely new to this and you are just… Lord Elrond you are amazing… you really are kind. I promise you won't regret your decision! I promise! I am not a freak. I was normal before, but I will do all I can to help you too. Thank you!" I was too excited and I wanted to keep blabbering on about nothing until Gandalf put both of his hands on my shoulders.

"Now now. Calm down. You heard Lord Elrond, he is allowing you to stay here, but please, do not vex him so much to later come to regret your stay here." I looked up at him and he smiled at me, but also moved his chin toward my direction signaling his emphasis.

"Right. Sorry. I was, well. I just didn't-" I interrupted myself by closing my eyes and took a quick breath. I turned to Lord Elrond. "Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart and I'm sorry for blabbering on. I know you have other things to attend to. I know things will be difficult for you and you will have to make the hardest decisions, but please know, that things will happen for a reason. I came here with Gandalf for a reason, and I strongly believe you are supposed to help me and I am definitely going to help you."

Lord Elrond, thanks so much. I see his face make a crooked smile as if he wants to say something…

"You had mentioned that you can see things as well when concerning the Ringbearer. What do you know of him now at this time?" I guess he's known about its coming. I remember he would have difficulties of seeing anything to do with The One Ring, but I guess when it concerns Rivendell, he'll know when it's coming.

"Well, concerning today's date, he's arriving tomorrow, being chased by the Nazgul… you should keep your river in mind. And also where the hobbit will reside so that he may heal. He was stabbed by that Morgul Blade. He's really close to being one of them." I rubbed the back of my neck, remembering that I couldn't do anything about protecting him at that time. I just see Gandalf crossing his arms and he nods.

"Alright then. I must prepare my mind and my healing room. I have also heard from Gandalf that you would like to have some basic training to prepare yourself in case of battle. It may begin sometime soon." His smile went away and went back to his strict face. He looked at Gandalf. "If you have taken guardianship of her, which I am very surprised, she is to follow you then. Please relax while you both can while you are here." He sighs and walks up to me and puts a hand on my head. He makes eye contact with me and says, "I formally welcome you to Rivendell, Elena." He smiles and shakes his head, then makes his leave.

"That went better than I expected." I hear Gandalf laugh to himself.

I let out such a sigh that I didn't even realize that I was holding my breath. "I thought my bosses back home were scary, but this is the first time I have ever been so intimidated in my life! He's definitely a lot more awesome than many many of my bosses that I've had before… and I had a lot of different kinds of bosses." I posted myself against a windowsill and looked out to the city. Gandalf took the rail next to me and stared out as well.

"Lord Elrond trusts me even though I'm quite rebellious myself into doing things that I think are best, but I believe that even his intuition is telling him that he needs to have faith in us. Go on now. I know you would like to clear things with Lady Arwen. I know she will have plenty of questions now." I guess both Gandalf and Lord Elrond already knew that she out waiting. Everyone and well, also not everyone… I guess everyone who should know and whom I want should know… well… should know.

"Thanks Gandalf. What are you going to do?"

"I think I will try to speak to Lord Elrond later today about what we can teach you and what are our plans should be."

I just nod my head. "Ah, the teachers begin to create the lesson plan for the student." I roll my eyes. Ugh, I hated school with a passion. Socially I was cool or whatever. Average, but everyone knew me. Learning was amazing, homework I didn't care too much about cause I'd just do it, but fuck tests, fuck reports, fuck talking to you community and interviews bullshit… fuck I hated that part of school…

"Alright. While my exquisite masters and teachers, I will go frolic my merry way while I still can." I started walking away and I can hear my dear old "granddad" make the sound 'ehhhhhh' and I picture him just swatting me away with his hand. With my elf ear, I can actually hear his footsteps walking away clear as day. I did a quick test and covered my elf ear and tried to listen with my human ear. I can hear but baaaaaaaaaaarely…

I walked off and I left the room where I was in talking to the two grown-ups, and I see Arwen down the hall looking at the Shards of Narsil.

"Lady Arwen?"

She didn't turn around. I couldn't see her face.

"I guess you heard everything. I know you asked me last night, but I didn't want to frighten you before I had talked with your father. It's like with my situation, I wanted to, I guess, have his blessing to even be here before I told you everything."

"What do you want your destiny to be here in Middle-Earth?" She asked without facing me.

"What?" I was shocked by the question.

"What do you want to do while you are here? As you said, in your world, you done or experienced anything like this. Ever."

"Well, I would love to go home. Go back to everything that I have ever learned, known, and loved. So I just need to finish what I need to do here, whatever it is, and hopefully have an opportunity to go home. That's all I want to do. But I am so scared. I was nervous when I moved out, I was scared about my new work, taking care of myself without counting on my family, but this is nothing. Absolutely nothing compared to my experience back home. I never thought I would do anything, and now I have to learn to defend myself with a sword or a bow and arrow. Things I didn't have learn at home, but here I have to have a chance to survive."

She sighs heavily.

"Are you scared of me Lady Arwen? Do you not want to be friends with me anymore? I would understand, because of what I inherited when I first came into this world. It terrifies me so much, and if it wasn't for luck that I appeared before Gandalf, I would be absolutely lost, and probably had been much… much more worse off."

She turns around and smiles at me, but I can still see the slight worry in her eyes.

"Hmm, let's see if we can do anything with your hair. You just have it in a ponytail on which is alright, but you aren't starting your training yet. I will brush your hair and make you look very nice." She walks off and I just smile and give a little fist pump to myself. Yes… she's still my homie.

* * *

"Days go by and I still think of you.  
Days when I couldn't live my life without you."

I sigh. Being ditched here on Middle-Earth is not so bad really. I'm hanging out in Rivendell by the waterfall eating an apple and I can still have an emo song in my heart and in my voice.

Today is the day that Frodo wakes. And I cannot wait to meet him. I haven't met the other hobbits yet, hiding myself away in my room, or here on this rock near the waterfall. If I cover my right eye now and use my left elven eye to see far away. I look down at one of the balconies that Imaldris has to offer, and I see the four hobbits rejoicing together.

"You guys are just too cute. I swear…" They are just too cute, that I could just put them in a little bottle, put them on my keychain, and put them on the zipper of my messenger bag back home. I start thinking of another song to sing:

"Reunited and it feels so good. Reunited cause we understood, there's one perfect fit, and sugar, this one is it, we both are so excited cause we're reunited, hey, heeeeeeeeey…" I giggle as right now I do feel silly. With the song in my head and covering my human eye, I start moving my shoulders up and down alternatively and I move my torso and my neck to the grove of the song.

"So this is where you are hiding." I hear that smooth talking voice. I whip my head around and see who the intruder is on my secret spot.

"Jeeze Glorfindel! You scared me! Don't sneak up on me like that!" I see him in his tanish brown tunic outfit with a quiver on his back and a bow in one hand.

"My apologies Lady Elena. I didn't not mean to startle you." He snickers.

"At least you can help me up then. It's time for me to join them down below and to finally introduce myself." I outstretch my hand and he takes it pulling me up. "And what did I tell you about calling me 'Lady'? You picked up that habit when you first arrived with the hobbits. You know I ain't no lady." We start walking down the dirt bath, and I'm picking up my dress a bit. I'm wearing a shiny metallic gray dress with silver embroidery at the hems with my favorite sleeves of bell design by my hand. The servants who do my laundry are probably pretty pissed right now. I chuckle a bit to myself.

"I had to call you that because you are an elleth of importance. It is a title given to those who hold great power." Oh yeah… I talked to him about it, but he seems to be okay with it. Still nervous at times, but I guess like Arwen, he's getting used to me.

"So why have you decided to avoid the hobbits until now?" He questioned me.

"Well, I guess since they have been through so much, and just like me, those hobbits lived a very peaceful life before that thing into their lives. They farmed, ate food, took care of each other, ate food, go to the pub, ate food, sang and danced, and ate food… and now they had to endure so many things that weren't familiar to them and are scary. If I just came into the picture right then and there, it would have been too much for them. I think anyway. Plus, I just kept on missing opportunities to properly introduce myself to the other three hobbits. Right now is a good time as any. Maybe Frodo can help me out since I've technically met him already."

Glorfindel nodded as if agreeing with me. "It is true. When I encountered them, Frodo was very close to crossing over to the darkness. The hobbits were terrified for him and Estel almost seemed helpless since his healing capabilities weren't enough to heal Frodo. But now they are healed and happy with their reunion." We approached to the bottom of the path and heading towards the platforms. Wandering through the hallways I see that they are empty.

We started to approach the white stone platform outside while the hobbits are having their reunion. Things have started to calm down and I started to hide behind Glorfindel. He's so nice to me… awwww…. Because he understood of my shyness and he lead me to the hobbits.

He interrupted their conversations and laughter and they all became serious and a little nervous.

"No need to be alarmed everyone. I have only brought you someone to meet. She is hiding right behind me." This is so embarrassing… I swear. I'm twenty eight and the executive assistant to a CEO and I have to meet and greet new people practically every week and when you show me someone new in Middle-Earth, I get all stupid weird…

"Who is that I must meet?" Eek! That was Frodo's voice!

"Yes! Who is it that is needing to meet Mr. Frodo?" Oh Samwise.

"Does she bring anything to eat with her?" Gawd damn it Pippin… I just shake my head.

"How come she is hiding right behind you?" Keen eyes Merry…

"Time to come out. And don't be shy. According to the age of the Race of Men, you are that of an adult already." I start to slowly come out fixing my hair while I was still behind him. Then I fully reveal myself holding my hands together at my waist trying to look presentable. My eyes are looking at Frodo.

"Hello Everyone. I am-"

"Elena?" Frodo stepped forward closer to me. He was behind his friends and he started to move in between them.

I can only smile. He remembers me. I was afraid he wouldn't…

"Yes Frodo. It's me." I instantly feel that connection to him. We're binded to something evil, and yet, it brings us together. I kneel down and he walks into my outstretched arms.

I whispered into his ear. "I told you I'd see you again."

I can feel him smile and he holds me tighter. "You were right. I'm glad to finally meet you."

We release from each other's embrace and I stood up. Frodo turns around and he does the introduction for me.

"All of you. This is Elena. She is the woman I've told you about when I enter the dark realm when I put on the ring."

And they were all wide eyed. I guess he talked about me. I guess you could say they were pretty stunned…

This is going to be fun.


	6. Now This Was Pretty Obvious…

Disclaimer: NOPE. I don't own anything of LOTR, Tolkienism, whatevers! Get away from me lawyers. Also I just made references to RuPaul's Drag Race. Yep, just a reference. No ownership or affiliation whatsoever. It's just for giggles!

THERE WILL BE S-WORDS AND F-WORDS. No like? Then either no read or just pretend it's not there. It is all for entertainment and meanings of over exaggerated expression.

Thanks for the reviews! Reviews are great because it's another reason to stay motivated. Even just putting my fic into your alerts and/or favs lists, it's a silent review. I have my feelings and story line that keep me motivated, but people who actually like it, makes my heart sing!

I ONLY DO POV. So there WILL BE FRAGMENTS. It's more fun that way to me. **DO NOT FLAM ME. **CRITQUES ARE FINE! Just don't be an asshole about it. This is just for fun. PM ME IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEND ME ANY LINKS about grammar, semantic, punctuation, that will greatly help me out, that'd be fabulous.

With that said. I DO NOT HAVE A BETA. I NO USE BETA! This makes sense enough I think or just make sense of it yourself. Sorry if it bothers you. One day I'll go back to fix it up. I have plans for that.

Sorry for the slow pace, but this is what I do. POV. Woohoo. POV order is Elena, Layla, Haldir, Gandalf, back to Elena.

This fic is for my own fun and enjoyment and I hope you all enjoy it too!

PS… F*$K DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME…

* * *

Chapter 6: Now This Was Pretty Obvious…

"Does this mean you're evil?"

"Can we see those brandings that you mentioned, Miss Elena?"

"Since you're not a race of man or elf, how about becoming a hobbit?"

Wow, these guys can ask questions. I was hearing the most random ass questions just like those and they weren't afraid of me at all. They were acting as if they were children just wanting to know more and more information. This kind of characteristic is usually in common with humans to want to gain more knowledge so as if not to be afraid of the unknown.

Sidetracking my brain a little bit. The ring isn't affecting me right now… but I think when I was close to it, it seemed warm… weird. I turn my attention back to the hobbits.

"No Merry, I'm not evil in this case. I'm like Frodo in a way. We carry something evil and it's a very heavy burden on us." I nodded to Frodo while I looked at Merry.

"You can see my brandings another time Sam, they are basically covering my back, and don't worry, you will see it." I winked at Sam, and he seemed shy… well never mind, he was shy. He turned a slight shade of pink and sort of seemed shocked. Muwahaha… I flirt with hobbits.

I turned to Pippin and I ruffled his hair, "I don't think I can pull off the hobbit feet. I wouldn't be able to fit my shoe collection anymore and that would make me sad." I wiggled my foot to show the pretty flats that I'm borrowing from Arwen and Pippin seemed to agree. Yep, I'd miss wearing shoes…

"Now now, don't overwhelm her. We all did just meet her." Frodo was sharing a light laughter with all of us.

"Frodo is right everyone. Let us all get some rest for our good fun of conversation has made me tired." I sat up from where I was sitting on a bench and stretch my arms.

Glorfindel had left awhile ago to tend to something for Lord Elrond so it was just the five us chatting away, until sunset.

I bid my farewell to Frodo for he desired to chat with his uncle and to ready himself for the council tomorrow. Oh yeaaaaaaaaaaaah, I hope I don't have to go to that. I already know what happens. I just wanna sleep in, yo! Gandalf always wakes me up in the early fucking hours of the morning… I'm not a morning person.

Oh wow… that's right. I haven't met Bilbo yet. He had gone to rest earlier before I met the four.

Merry and Pippin went to their room as did Sam, saying that they wanted to rake through the kitchens and find something to do before resting.

I was left to wander the halls by myself. The architecture looks really beautiful at night when the moon shines on it. Since, I've been here, I've been sleeping quite wonderfully… such bliss and the bed is better than memory foam. Love it!

I start to do a weird little trot I do of skipping and two stepping, and moving around in my dress twirling, sing some random words of me twirling, but of course, here in the House of Elrond, I forget that I am not alone…

"Hello there." I hear a deep raspy voice.

I quickly turn around.

Boromir!

My eyes were opened wide and I covered my mouth before I accidently said his name in surprise. I breathed out slowly through my nose to try to calm my nerves. I put my hand down.

"Hello." I just waved. Images of his death flow through my mind.

"I didn't mean to startle you, Lady, and to keep you from your singing and dancing. I know how much the Elves cherish it." I look at him up and down and he is dressed just like in the movie of his traveling clothes from Gondor. And he thinks I'm an elf. I guess it's like the same problem for me back home.

Born and living in U.S., I'm Mexican among non-Latinos and I'm White among the Latinos. I'm an elf among non-elves and elves give me a questioning look and grow curiouser and curiouser about me if I really am an elf. I just don't have the glow and charisma that go with it I guess… oh and I'm not really an elf anyway… only half… literally.

I wonder if Beren and Luthien had someone like me in mind of what their child would look like as a half breed.

Anyway… back to the picture!

"You do not need to worry yourself. I'm not quite good at it all anyway. I just really do what's in my heart and what I feel in the moment." I just smile, but it's hard to actually talk to someone who you know WILL DIE!

"I believe you were quite charming. As if, anyone can join you in your singing and your dancing and it is not specifically for the elves. I do like that kind of invitation." Boromir said to me. He comes closer to me. "May I ask what your name is?" Cool, he didn't come that much closer, but I moved into the darkness of a wall and I was paranoid. I started to fix my hair, even though it is already covering my ears.

"I'm Elena and pray tell what is yours?" I tried to smile, but, like I said… it's very disheartening talking to somebody who you know… that… you know WILL DIE!

"I am Boromir of Gondor. I have just arrived." Of course he won't tell me it's because of the council. It's supposed to be a fucking secret even though Frodo told me of it anyway. Plus we all know that the other three hobbits were going to show up, so it didn't matter. But I don't want to share anything yet with Boromir.

"It is good that you have arrived safely. Was the travel long?" That's right keep it cool. I clasp my hands behind me while I lean on wall. I see him crossing his arms leaning on a thin pillar that is a part of the railings design.

"Yes it quite was, but safe throughout the journey. I had arrived here in great haste and in stealth so as not to be bothered."

"That's good to hear. Anyway, I better go-uh rest for tomorrow is another day of work. I hope you have a good night here in Rivendell." I bowed and I start to walk away, but then he called my name and I turned around.

"I hope to chat with you again soon." He smiled. I couldn't help but smile back. He's… pretty nice. I wonder if I'll find my groove on how to talk to him later. I only reply, "You just might. Oh , and, try not to cut yourself tonight." I waved as I walk away and turned about the first closest corner. I waited there. I heard a soft whisper of a 'what' and I heard his steps walk slightly away.

I giggled to myself. I'm sure he's just about to meet Aragorn soon enough. I wonder if he'll watch out about cutting his finger… teehee! I couldn't help it… it was to help me really to keep calm that I was talking to someone who is meant to die.

I couldn't help but walk to my room, but then I got slightly lost. I know where I am. I've been through a lot of roundabouts in this place, avoiding the hobbits, including Aragorn, but I think he might know something is lurking and asked Arwen about it. I don't mind if she says something though. Might make introductions easier really…

Fuck it, from here I know how to get to one of the platforms. I'll have a seat on a bench once I come upon it. I'm not even sleepy anyway. And with no internet, phone, books that I like to read, no laptop to do my work from home on, nothing to do, I'm hella bored!

Stargazing… again… from a platform this time. At least the one I'm going to, I'll know how to head back to my room. I know right? I don't know how to get to my room, but once I get to the platform, I'll know how then. Ha, I'm screwed up!

Took me about couple of minutes and I finally get there. There is a small circular elevated platform that I have fancied standing on and pretending I just won the Oscars or something. Ah hell, I'll do it again. I do a quick jog and jump right on it!

I fix the hair that just got on my face and I pretended to do a thank you speech. "Thank you. Thank you for this! It was just amazing to be nominated for this category of of… hmm… of simply just being fabulous!" I couldn't help but snort through my nose and laugh to myself. Damn I wish I had a snack to eat. My stomach just gurgled and cried out.

I look down at my stomach and I pat it. I nod my head in mourning, "I know. I know. You desire nourishment, but nay, I haven't the resource!" I get theatrical and raise my hands as if reaching for some food to the sky, but it's really just to the stars.

"Then would you like some nourishment?" Gawd damn it, who is it this time? I turn around.

How many times must I be surprised today?

I just nod. He's here. He's here. He's here… bull shit he's here! Fuck! First Boromir and now him?

How many people am I going to accidently meet from the future Fellowship!?

Medium shiney blonde hair, crystallized blue eyes even shown on the moonlight, brown and green tunic combination, with his cloak on. I don't know how long has he been here, but if he has been here in Rivendell for a while, I avoided him too without realizing it.

Okay really? Damn it.

"_I happen to have a spare apple with me. Would you like it?"_ He says in what I recognize as Elvish, but I have no idea what he said. I shrug my eyebrows and I shake my head. He walks closer to me and now has his outstretched arm with apple in hand to my face. "Sorry, I thought you were an elf. You have such qualities on your face. I happen to have spare apple with me. Would you like it?"

Hmm. First one to actually say I'm not an elf, but does this mean I have nice skin? Sweet…

"Thanks." I take the apple away and quickly bite into it. Seriously, fruit is nature's candy, but I'd totally kill for some peanut butter cups! Or some green tea chocolate too! "Yeah, I don't know the language. It's a beautiful one though."

He just stands next to me. "May I ask what your name is? I am Legolas Greenleaf of the woodland realm." He takes a seat next to me, but he's a little close, but I just have a thing of being arms length of someone when they are new to me with the exception of the hobbits. I already know their personalities and they are honest guys.

Damn, okay, don't think I'm going to be your friend or anything… I scoot a little bit away from him.

"I'm Elena." I said in between bites. The least talkative character of the Fellowship and he talks to me…

"Only Elena? Do you not carry your family's name as the race of Men do? Or what realm do you hail from?"

Hmm… so far he's the only nosey one.

"I only go by Elena. Nothing more you need to know about me." I started to get up and I was about to walk away. "Thank you so much for the apple, but I really must be off. It was good to meet you." I had stood from where I sat and I turned heel to walk away. "I apologize if I have offended you, Lady Elena." I turned around and I see him standing as well. He did look worried with his shrugged eyebrows and hunched posture. I took one last bite of my apple and spoke in between my bites.

"Do not worry yourself over me, Mr. Greenleaf. I'm just the type of person that likes to keep everything to myself concerning myself. Though the one thing you should know about me is, I ain't no lady. Now I'm just somebody that you used to know." I sort of sang that last part to the beat of 'Somebody I Used To Know' and runway model myself away, or as RuPaul Drag Queen would say, I 'sashayed away'.

I would rather not tell anyone else of who I really am, what I currently am, and what I'm doing here. Just Arwen, and maybe Aragorn by now, Lord Elrond, Glorfindel, the Hobbits, and of course Gandalf. The less amount of people who know about me the better.

I am… a really weird person who seriously lives in her head. I make light of almost any situation when it really shouldn't be.

He really is gorgeous though. Like all the elves here in Rivendell. I haven't seen a reflection… I don't have the glow of an elf, but I do have the nice skin of one, but only one elf eye vision and hearing of course. Thank goodness for the skin… I always had the random breakouts of pimples on my forehead and some on my cheeks… small, so they weren't a huge problem, but the redness… oui vey!

I skipped all the way to my room once I made the roundabout of the corner and headed off to bed. I put the security lock… or rather a latch… okay, I put a table in front of the door. It's the only way for me to 'lock' it you know? Heavy as hell… it's like a stone in itself!

I just want to live peacefully here until the ring is destroyed. I'm not cut out for battles 'n' shit… fuck that…

I sit on the window sill platform and just lean against the wall of it. I take another bite of my apple. I'm not sleepy yet, but before I meet Aragorn, I better hide out here. Teehee, I think him and Arwen are having their romantic moment…

More men should be like Aragorn… and more couples like Arwen and Aragorn… no way in Hell I'll be more like Arwen.

I snort to myself. "If you can't love yourself, how in the Hell are you gonna love somebody else?" Oh RuPaul, you are so fucking fabulous. I promise I won't fuck it up! Amen!

Gotta love that 'woman'.

* * *

It's really sad… I'm actually pretty bored… or really I feel bored…

Do you know the difference if you feel bored and being bored?

I'm not bored right now, but I feel bored when Haldir is gone. He, Orophin, and another elf guard went off on some scouting mission and has been gone for about a couple a few hours. Haldir said that Rumil should stay behind to 'watch over me and protect me'. He's so sweet!

I just taught Rumil the 'Slide' counting hand game. Remember that shit back in elementary school? It is still fun for me and Elena twenty three years later.

But I kept mucking it up! We've been as high as up to 103, but I mess up a lot now. Rumil is an expert!

"I win again Layla. The student has now become the teacher." He places his hands on his hips and stares off into the distance. I cross my arms and roll my eyes. Getting cocky now! I start 'haha-ing' out loud.

We were just chillen on the grass, near the archery fields. We started playing after I had my lesson by Rumil since Haldir said and I quote, "She should not skip practice just because I'm not here to push and pull her around." Feh! I was gonna anyway, but it's nice to spend time with Rumil. Been a while.

"No one cares! This isn't a competition!" I laugh and stick my tongue out at him. "Now now. None of that. Be a respectable young elleth and worship your champion!" He whips his hair a little bit to show his high and mighty shit! I lightly punch him on his shoulder and he pretends that I had hurt him. "Oh, the pain of being who you are!" We shared a laugh and he stood up and offered me a hand to stand up. I gracefully took it.

"Now this was a good rest. Come, let us continue your training." He reaches for the bows and arrows that were hanging on a post next to us and he hands them to me. "Really? I'm tired! I just wanna go to bed…" I whined as I took them. "I know, we have been at this for a while, but it is very important to keep your training consistent. You are greatly improving and it is something worthwhile to show your 'darling Haldir.' You have been hitting the target many more times now from since you first started, so let us keep up the pace. I said to Haldir that I will keep you trained that that is what I will do."

I just huffed with a slight smile. "Fiiiiiiiine!" I get into my stance, but before I could release the arrow, an elf guard rush towards us. Rumil approached him and the elf guard came still.

"Orthanar. Why do you express such a face?" Rumil I could tell in his voice was worried. I stood normally and I walked up behind him.

I see the Orthanar's face turn sad and grim.

No…

"Sir, It is Haldir. He is currently with the healers. Please come see him. Orophin and Daleheon are also suffering minor injuries, but Haldir took a greater toll." I dropped the bow and arrows and I bolted. I ran and zigzagged through the halls, picking up the hem of my light blue dress.

No, it can't be. Haldir is a marchwarden which means he's the best right? Great at strategies and protection?

Haldir please be okay.

"Oh God. Oh God. Oh God." I kept saying over and over. He's not supposed to die anyway right? He never died in the book. This was never mentioned in any of the books.

I finally arrived through the hall of where the healer's room and it looks like the emergency room in a New York City hospital.

Two elves sitting up next to each other. I see Orophin with an arrow to his shoulder and light gash on his chest. He's topless and one healer is attending to him right now. Daleheon had an arrow to the thigh and had what I head was also a light gash on his back. He was taking his tunic off, but they were both yelling to the three healers to please save Haldir.

Rumil comes up behind me and heads towards Orophin's side.

It was all a blur and in slow motion. One second I'm looking to Orophin and Daleheon, then I look over to the two healers who were taking Haldir's armor and tunics off by tearing them off with small knives. I already see Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn by his side.

I gasped and covered my mouth with my hands. No. He had such large gashes on his chest and two arrows close to his chest.

Was it an ambush!?

"Haldir!" I rush over and the healers laid him down onto a bed that resembled a gurney and started to do their work. "Lady Galadriel!" I rush over to embrace her while I look on what the healers are doing.

"What happened?" I never took my eyes off of Haldir. I hear Lord Celeborn speak. "Orophin has mentioned that it was an ambush of orcs outside of our forests. Haldir has to make trips to other lands to collect reports from other realms of these invasions, but then they were caught in a trap that was very close to our trees."

"He's going to okay though right?"

"This will be the perfect time for all of us to find out." Lady Galadriel releases me from her embrace and approaches Haldir.

"Layla, please come here." She ordered me. I gulped. What can I do. Before I was about to make my first step, Lord Celeborn leaned down and whispered into my ear, "Focus on the healing. Channel your energies to him." And he nudged me forward.

I was out of the way and I just headed straight to his head. I cupped his face and I started crying. "You have to be okay. You're going to be alright." He grunts in pain and shifts a lot and cries out when the arrows are moved a little because the healers broke them off to shorten their length. They began to place salves on him, but they haven't removed the arrows yet. They are so close to his chest.

"You will heal him yourself Layla and I will be of help to you." I whipped my head to see her face and she smiles at me!

"Wha-huh-que'? How in the heck am I supposed to do that? I'm not a healer! Or a nurse! I'm an administrative assistant! Nothing to do with the human body!" I looked at Haldir and back at her face.

"You will now begin your healing training starting now. This will be difficult and I have taught you nothing, but this is the perfect time to find out how much power you do have."

Is she fucking bonkers!

"You will not have that language around me. Now place your hands over his wounds and focus what you want to do. I will do the same over your hands to help you access your energy, your fëa."

I started to share my nervous laughter. "Okay, you can cut the joke now. You can heal him. I get it. Please just heal him." I feel the stickiness of blood on his chest. My hands sharing the shame shade of red.

"You will save him. Hurry, because I can sense he is slipping into the Hall of Mandos."

"He's dying! Fu-shhhhh-NO!" I look down at his face and his wounds. I want you to heal! I want you to get better! I want you to heal correctly!

"It's not working! It's not working!"

"Lady, please! Heal my brother! She is not ready to do this!" I hear Orophin's voice.

"Please save Haldir!" Rumil I just don't know how!

"Haldir please! Please live! I can't live without you! I'll die if you die! You're not supposed to die okay? You're not supposed to!"

Then I feel it…

I feel something. Something warm and soothing. As if replenishing my strength and mind. It's calming me down…

I looked up at the Lady of Light and she smiled at me. "You have accessed your fëa now transmit it to him." I just nodded and I started to feel movement within my body. It almost feels as if something is moving within my veins and my skin contact to Haldir is… one with me or something?

I look straight into Haldir's eyes. He seemed surprise… in shock… relief… and I can sense he's not in pain anymore. I can get all of this from these feelings…

I can feel him getting better… and without feeling anything, I feel as if I am being covered. I noticed that Haldir's body is actually pushing out the arrowheads… the gash is closing…

I'm… instantly healing…. him? How can this be… possible?

Then I stopped feeling anything. Everything started to go white… feeling of falling, just dropping straight, and I felt a warmth, and…

That's it…

* * *

"Layla! Layla! Speak to me!" I was in awe of everything that was happening to her. She placed a hand over my chest and I felt all of her warmth and energy spreading through me. But I had feared for her as well.

Her eyes had changed from those brown beautiful eyes to completely white. A color of white, brighter than the whites in anyone's eyes. I also see a hint of blue, but then she started to close them and I see her body begin to fall.

As if nothing had happened to me, I had caught her. I immediately turned around from where I had laid and I grabbed her by her shoulders and brought her to my blood crusted, completely healed chest.

It was hard to quickly figure out where to place my hands and arms on her because she had something in the way and her dress was falling off from her back. Her front side is covered, but her dress had completely torn from the back all the way down almost revealing her rear.

But that is not even the second reason of my shock and surprise. The real reason was:

She had sprouted giant white wings. Feathers and everything… and quite large. Lose feathers flying about when she had first outstretched them, but I don't even think she knew what was going on herself. Her complete focus was on me.

I notice her skin pale, but she is still warm to the touch. The healers have not approached me and The Lady approached Layla with a thin sheet blanket to cover her back, and as soon as she did, all the feathers from her wings had started to come apart and land on the floor. Then she proceeded to wrap it around her body comfortably and tightly.

"Healers. Please lay Layla onto one of our more comfortable beds. She is only sleeping, but keep an eye on her, and let me know when some wakes." I turn to The Lady and I shake my head. "I will do it." I don't want to let go of her. I had gotten off of the temporary bed with her still in my arms, and I had carried her to one of the better beds. I gently laid her down and covered her with a sheet that a healer had handed to me. I put on a white cloak with large sleeves to cover myself. I had not paid any attention to Orophin or to Daleheon, but only shared a nod and their nods of understanding back to me.

I could only stare. She's so pale, her hair has few strands misplaced, and she looks so peaceful.

The Lady and Lord had finally come to her bedside. "She has finally awakened her powers. Just as I thought. She is of the healing kind. Nothing offensive. This was the only way to awaken her Haldir. Do forgive us." Lady Galadriel replied and then she looked at me.

"Forgive? What is there to forgive? She had saved me, with your help." I was confused.

"We had told her that you were on the verge of death so that she may use her desperation to access her fëa, because she couldn't do it on her own with no strong point to focus on. Something that we both understand." The Lord had said. "She is easily distracted and frustrated, so we had to use this unfortunate, but useful event to teach her something. Now the normal lessons can begin."

My eyes grew wide and my mouth agape.

"You lied to her!? It's almost as if it was madness and genius…" I had to ponder this. It is true about Layla… she is very… very… easily distracted. Meditation is not her… expertise. The Lady of the Wood only laughed and Lord Celeborn slighty shrugged and shook his head. "Sometimes I don't know what my own wife may think of next."

I look behind me and I see that Orophin and Daleheon are bandaged on their shoulders and from their gashes. Orophin just staggers toward me, but tries to walk normally.

"As The Lady said, she'll be fine, Haldir. We had to rush you in from that attack. Even I thought you had been getting closer to death." I just nodded.

"Come, we shall leave this room so that our wounded may rest." Lady Galadriel had said.

"I will rest in my room. I am moving fine and will rest there." Orophin had said and walked over to exit doors.

"So shall I. I wish to see my wife for I know she is waiting there impatiently as the news of our return is so far kept secret. I must now face her." Daleheon had said and laughed to himself.

Orophin has then slung his arm over Daleheon's shoulders and they grunted in slight pain. "Hopefully the newfound healer can get to us next. This pain is no walk in the forest." I had to scoff and chuckle at that comment. I see them walk or rather limp away.

I turn to face Layla again and she had not changed. Pale and laying still with steady breathing. I reach over to hold her hand.

The Lady bent down slightly and started to stroke Layla's hair. "She brings great power and responsibility Haldir. So great that she may one day leave us to journey to find her purpose. I sense such a spirit within her that she is from either the Valar or the Creator. She may hold power as much as I or possibly even more."

By the Valar, is she that strong? But she merely is only one elf? Through she was brought to this world under certain circumstances. But with this power…

She may leave me one day?

"She needed you so much Haldir that she delved within herself to find the power to heal you when she couldn't for anyone else. She has quite the love and devotion for you." I couldn't help but become a little timid at The Lady's comment to me and I feel as though I my skin turned into a shade of pink.

Wait a minute. Love? As in she loves me?

"Please ponder on my thoughts concerning Layla and be prepared for the possible future that may come forth for her. She is still looking for her friend and she knows what will happen to this world." She placed her hand on my shoulder and gave it a quick squeeze.

"Please watch over her well, Marchwarden Haldir. She has been quite the gift, not only to Middle-Earth…" And Lord Celeborn had left his sentence at that. I had seen The Lady placed a hand on her husband's shoulder and they looked at each other and then back to me. She then held his hand.

"She will wake soon and she will need to gain her strength. Please take care of her." She had slightly bowed her head to me.

"I will." Was all that I could say then they walked out of the room.

I had grabbed and empty chair and used it to sit next to Layla at her bedside. "Please, Love. Sleep. Sleep and be well. I will be here when you wake." I bring her hand to my lips and I press them to her pale skin.

She is warm…

* * *

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!GANDALF! GANDAAAAAAAALF!" I heard my name. I immediately rise up from where I was sitting. I was having a nap until I hear her dreaded cries.

"Elena!" I am walking and running around each corners and I have met Lord Elrond along the way. "What has happened!? What is going on? Who is screaming for you, Gandalf?"

"It is Elena. She may be in trouble!"

We continue to walk around the paths and I see Legolas and Boromir just arriving at her door. "What is happening in there?" Boromir had asked. I see then Aragorn, Arwen, and more elves arrive including the hobbits. Just an audience is every required!

"Elena is in there!" I rush to the door, but it did not easily open. I push it open and I see there was a table in the way, but I was able to see something. A dreadful scene that had caught my eye.

I pushed open the door and thankful Elena was not in direct view. Others had started to crowd around, and behind Lord Elrond was the only other who I allowed to see. "My word!" Was all he could say. I turned to the audience just behind me. I see Legolas trying to move his body and his head to see, and his eyes grew eyes and weary. He must have seen beyond us and has seen the blood on the walls that is behind the door. I must say something before he reveals something.

I had also witness Frodo taking advantage of his height, bustling through the legs of everyone and I can tell from his expression that he too, saw the blood. I then spoke taking authority.

"This does not involve all of you. You are all not to see this! This matter is not for your eyes!" Lord Elrond then spoke, "Do not ask questions. Information will be discussed in the morning!" We then entered and had shut the door behind us.

I can hear all the voices behind me now through the doors and the banging from their fists.

"What happened to Elena?"

"Is she alright?! Where did all the blood come from?"

"Is she hurt badly?"

"Don't let Miss Elena die!"

We were still absorbing the situation. It is a great shock, surprise, astonishment, so many words to describe what we feel and what we are seeing.

We first noticed the blood starting at the windowsill that is in the direction of the door, then we follow it trailing to the walls on the other side of room leading behind the bed. The bed itself was unmade, having some lines of blood and the bed sheet gone.

So much blood…

Then we see her huddled to herself at the corner behind her bed, with a bed sheet covering herself, but something seemed taller than her is on her back. "Elena? What has happened?"

"Gand…alf…" I see her head turning slowly towards me, her body trembling.

"Elena, I am here. Lord Elrond is here as well. Now tell us what happened." The both of us had walked closer to her. Lord Elrond stopped by the bed and I kneeled before her looking at her face, her eyes closed.

"Child, can you tell us where you are hurt?" Lord Elrond asked.

"My back… it is feeling quite sore…" She said in between struggled breaths and she tries to laugh. "This is no time for jokes Elena. Please, what happened here?" I urged her to comply.

She looks up into my eyes, to Lord Elrond, then back to me. Her left eye is completely black. No color, no other circles, only of one solid color, and no lines. Pure darkness…, but her right eye, her Race of Man eye, is perfectly normal. "I think something is starting… within me. Only one came out though. And it hurt… it hurt like a bitch…" She laughed more but strained with more pain as each movement in her body pained her.

"Elena, we're going to take a look at your injuries. Please let us see it." Lord Elrond comes up to Elena and kneels down before her. He is taken aback but seeing her eye, but he quickly regains his composure. "I wonder what I look like that I had scared both of you. Hideous? Treacherous? Menacing? I wonder… I am very sorry I look this way…" She proceeded to stand up with her back to us as she leans her head onto the corner of the wall, taking off the bed sheet to reveal something that is indeed horrific.

One wing, a Fellbeast's wing, is in the folded position on her back. All of grey skin, with black spots on her body. Possibly to the fact that since she is not a full elf, the black color has stopped spreading. I see patches and lines of blood crusted on those wings, and the back of her dress is ripped open revealing the location of where the wing has sprouted. The branding on the left side has disappeared, while on the right side, the branding is untouched by any changes with the exception of blood drops and smears.

"Oh Ilúvatar what fate this girl and to us!" And as quickly as we saw the Fellbeast wing, it had changed into a feathered wing, then it started to come apart, one by one, each feather fell and faded into the air.

Lord Elrond was quicker than I to see that Elena was starting to fall straight down, first taking notice in her legs as they were bending and her body leaning against the wall, sliding only a little bit for he rushed to her back, and picked her up in his arms, despite that when her back was on his arm, he was being covered by her blood as the wound that the fellbeast's wing had sprouted from did not heal on its own.

She had passed out as I can clearly see now. Lord Elrond had then laid her on the bed and then turned her so that her stomach is facing down, her back exposed, and tilts her head to the side so she may breathe. I gathered more comforting pillows to put under her head so that it is elevated for her to breathe more comfortable in this position.

"I believe she is awakening in this form Gandalf. The longer she stays here, the longer Imaldris is in danger… Sauron's eye is fixated on Rivndell. I have to not only worry about her, but now The One Ring." He had finally spoken. He began to cover the wounds with the sheets, and began humming a song, and his hands turned to a yellow/white soft glow over her injury. I could only watch has he healed her from start to finish. He checked under the blanket and mumbles that the branding of the wing has returned.

After a few moments, he began to speak again. "I do sense her fate is still in her hands. I cannot see anything concerning her, for her future is covered in fog, but I do believe that you are right. She can still go either way for she still has a great holding on herself, but she cannot do this alone. Whether she stays the way she is or she happens to accept fate and become Elf and use the powers of the Dark Lord Morgoth, she will always have this with her unless The Valar can change anything about her, which I doubt. She is not a child of Ilúvatar."

This is very true. She hails from another world and she is not the child of this world's creator.

I can only over look her lying still form, watching breathe slowly. She now only looks as if she is only sleeping.

"When she wakes, she is to join us in the council tomorrow. Everyone must know what is before her, before all races, and all of Arda. I leave her with you Mithrandir. This is one of the greatest challenges that has ever befallen you. She needs to be watched over and make sure her thoughts to not linger towards the Dark Lord Sauron." I didn't have a word to say for I did agree with him.

"I understand Lord Elrond. I will force her to join the council tomorrow as you wish, though I have had a feeling that she knew of the meeting, but made no reference to it. She had mentioned her plans today was to take a stroll by the waterfalls or just stay in bed all day long."

Lord Elrond shook his head and even shared a smile or a smirk. I could never tell. "I have only known her for a short time, but I know she would say something like that. It is very much like her." He leaves for the door, "I will go and fetch Arwen to help her clean up and to have clothing to wear especially for the council tomorrow. So far it does seem that she and Elena get along very well." He opens the door and closes it behind him. I did catch a few voices that remained by the door.

"Lord Elrond. How is Elena? Is she alright? Why is there blood on you?"

Sounds to me that Frodo is the only one waiting outside. "She is going to be fine and needs her rest. Everything will be explained today during our meeting. Please rest until then."

As I wait for Arwen to come in, I think of all the days I have spent with this young girl. I remember all of her whining and how vexing it is. She honestly never walks around like this. She tells me that back where she lives, it is a sport and has special clothing, footwear, and equipment that people carry for such, 'activities'. She says things that she wishes that she could 'drive', or 'take the train,' or 'take a plane' to wherever we needed to be. So many things that I do not understand. She is very new to this world and this type of environment and has no skills whatsoever to survive on her own. She would tell me that in her home world, that as long as you have money, you can get almost whatever you needed. Only times of disaster is when it is very difficult. So different from us, but we are the same.

I have come to act like a paternal figure to her. I would wake her when she needs to be ready so that we may move on, scold her for saying bad things, challenge her when she says something I do not agree with, guide her on how to survive here, protect her when she needs it. It has been like that since she first appeared to me as a little light sphere. I do not know how Sauron conjured her and her friend to be here, but there must be a connection between them now. We can only hope that her friend had found a sanctuary as well. I can only be there for Elena as much and long as I can. I can see how people may mistake us as a family. We haven't been apart in many weeks, or at least it feels like weeks.

I take my aging hand and I hold onto hers. "I am here when you wake, and be sure to wake soon. You are not out of the woods yet, Child." I sit on the bed next to her lying form.

* * *

My eyes tremble as I open them. I feel so heavy…

I'm lying on my bed?

I wish it was MY bed, but it's the bed that I've been renting out in this room that I'm also using since my stay here in Rivendell.

I turn my head because I had seen the grey figure next to me sitting on a chair. Reminds me when he was Frodo's bedside smoking his pipeweed, but he's not doing it with me. I was a little disappointed. I mentally laughed to myself, but I brought myself back to the moment. "Gandalf?" I tried to scoot up in bed, but I noticed that I had many pillows behind me to help me keep my form of my back straight.

"Move your body slowly. Lord Elrond healed you, but without any herbs and appropriate bandages as you bled so much. He had to immediately close the wound as you were bleeding quite fast. Lady Arwen then came in to clean you and dress you along with another healer elf."

"Wow… No wonder I'm beat." I adjust myself a bit and lean into the pillows and made eye contact with Gandalf. "So I'm good now? No infections, gashes, internal bleeding and the like?" I saw him nod his head.

Gandalf then stood from his chair, and whipped the blanket off of me. "For the first time ever, you have awoken from your slumber on time."

I freaked out and I grabbed the blanket sheet and used it to cover myself, feeling the soreness of my body, caused me to slow down and do a double take of what I was wearing. I guess I didn't have to because when I looked down at what I was wearing, I wore the same style dress, simple, the length I know reaches to cover my feet, in the color of black, with the sleeves a blood red color. The red and black seem almost fitting for me nowadays…

"Oh I'm already dressed. But where are we going?" Seriously… where?

"We are going to the meeting. The Council of Elrond."

I gave him my best what-the-fuck-are-you-talking about look. My head slightly bent down, eyebrow raised, making eye contact with him and the words, "What are you talking about, Gandalf?"

Then see him go 'Granddad' mode on me. You know when a parent starts to look like someone with authority and really going to use that tone with you… yeah… I'm nervous when he gets into what I call the 'Granddad mode.

"Elena, you are summoned by Lord Elrond to go to this secret meeting and there is no way out of it. Even I believe, no, I know that you need to be a part of this council. It is very important because this is the discussion concerning The One Ring." He puts a hand on his hip showing that he's giving me the low down. But I'm the rebellious granddaughter… to him, I'm still like a baby or teenager whatever age is equivalent that I am…. I don't make sense right now, but you get the jist.

"Nope. No way am I going to that council. I'm sore, I just want to sleep, and who cares if I'm there or not. I already know what happens. Until Lord Elrond kicks me out of here, I just want to stay here until The One Ring is destroyed." Yeah, I'm in bitchy mode. Seriously. No reason for me to be there!

"Elena, all of that now has changed. The Eye of Sauron is fixated on Rivendell, and because of that, he is now looking for you as well along with The One Ring. You staying here, and might I add, if you over stay your welcome here, you will put this city in danger! Your very presence has changed either the fate or the ending fate of your life and all of this world."

Shit… I didn't even think about that. Now Sauron knows where I am? Shiiiiiiiit! I just cross my arms and I start laughing. I'm losing it.

"Hahahahahaha, I'm so totally screwed! I'm gonna die. I'm gonna fucking die!" From bitchy mood and quickly to bonkers mode. I've lost it. I know I did. Or I haven't completely lost it.

"Elena get a hold of yourself and watch your tongue!" He sits on the bed next to me and grabs my shoulder and shakes me. It's okay. It's actually not the first time I'm like this and he's treated me like this… I'm like this every couple of days or weeks. Whole new world and all…

"Fine! I'm okay." Reality checks are always needed. But but… "But I'm still not going. What if those guys just decide to up and kill me? Hm? They're gonna find out that I'm possibly the root of all evil, and what happens if they want to know what happened last night? Hm? They're going to want to kill me!" I said this and one hand turned into a fist and I pounded my chest lightly to show emphasis. Bonkers to reality mode.

"No one will hurt you. For that I am sure. I will make sure of it. Even if they wanted to kill you and you turned up dead, we don't know the consequences of it after you are dead. Quite fearing when you can think about it. Where would Morgoth's energy go? Would Sauron be angry and rise up to power sooner? Possibilities can come up when it happens, but let us make sure it doesn't happen." He smiles at me.

"I'm scared Gandalf. I've never stopped being scared…" I start to slide slowly out of bed and I see that there are simple black flats with a gold trim embroider around the rims. I mentally thank Arwen. I slip them on with ease. I reach out my hands to Gandalf and I see him then stand to help me up slowly

"Ow ow ow… I'm good…" Gandalf lets go of my hands and I raise my arms high toward the ceiling for a good stretch and I go side to side…

"If I must meet my fate, then I must meet it head on. I'm terrified… but I think with you by my side, I can work it." But then… but then… I shrug my eyebrows in worry… WHAT THE FUCK AM I GOING TO DO WITHOUT HIM?!

"But what happens if a time comes when I'm without you?" I stop stretching my arms and put my hands on my hips. "I can't lose my granddad at anytime." I know he's going to be gone for a while, but seriously, what would I do? Panic? Of course, but seriously…

"If a time like that ever comes, always believe in yourself. Take the burden on yourself, but if there are people you trust that are around, then you can ask for help, assurance, safety, plans, anything. Your feelings need to be alleviated to be away from the darkness."

I feel like that time might come soon. No way in Hell I'm joining the Fellowship. I'd get killed quick and easy… ugh… or slow and not so easy…

"Now will you come with me to the council?" Yes and no, but head on right? Can't disobey Lord Elrond or my granddad…

"Yes, let's shall. Let us embrace this fate." I extend my hand as if I wanted to be escorted and he laughs and then pretended that he was honored. "I feel as though I was going to let you married."

Awwwww! He's picturing me as if he was 'giving me away' to my future husband…

"Aw geeze Gandalf. That's not going to happen any time soon! Nope nope nope!" We share a laugh this time and then we make our way to the council… slowly… My back is still sore and I can feel it to my hips.

Wonder if I kept them waiting…


	7. Revelations During A Council… Oh Joy

**Disclaimer**: I do not any LOTR, Tolkien stuff… so lay off! :D Ha…

**WARNING**: There will be curse words in this fic that will borderline T-M. I have not rated it M, because there is no nudity, but I am warning you that there is strong use of vulgar language and possibly minor sex jokes. **This is completely for fun and for** **enjoyment**. DON'T READ IF YOU DON'T LIKE VULGAR LANGUAGE. This fic may contain all kinds of humor from dark humor, sex, race, religion, sexual orientation, slurs, sexuality, sensuality, etc. If you want to compare humor, think of just regular television shows every day, but rated TV-14 or even a funny rated-R movie like Pulp Fiction.

I ONLY DO **POV**. To me, it's more fun that way. If you see many fragments, tough. It's conversational style. **DO NOT FLAME** for semantics or grammar errors. If you would like to assist me in punctuation regulations, please PM me a site. I haven't written in a while and I'm extremely rusty. Also, **I DO NOT HAVE A BETA**. This makes sense of it without having to correct it. PM me with anything regarding if you need more background story. I'll fix it later on, but not now. I have a life, and I don't want to put too much into something that won't be published. :P I'll fix it sometime in the future when I'm sorta bored.

Sorry for any OOCness here. It's fanfiction, so… I tried to keep them in character. XP

Order of POVs: Elena, Layla

Please enjoy! Don't forget to review at the end. :D Don't be too harsh, just positive feedback/criticism is fine.

* * *

Chapter 7: Revelations During A Council… Oh Joy

"Everyone, this is Elena, and her guardian being Gandalf." Lord Elrond introduced me. Me and Gandalf stood by our seats, mine being in between Frodo and Gandalf. We bow and take our seats, though I am a little slower than he for I'm still very sore from last night debacle. I look at Frodo and he is looking back at me. We worriedly smile to each other and shrug our shoulders at the same time. I then take his hand into mine and he grasps my hand back.

"Are you alright? I saw blood last night." His looking toward the platform, but he leans his body towards me as he whispers.

I lean my head toward his direction, but only bent my head a little towards my shoulder. "I'm fine. Nothing to further worry you right now." I could only tell him. He needs to focus on his own thing right now. Nothing else should worry him… nothing else. He knows just about everything, but he doesn't need to know of that I basically had a giant grey reptilian wing come out of my back…

We focus our attention back to the center.

"Elena, are you well enough to be here?" Lord Elrond asks of me.

"Yes Lord Elrond. My 'illness' has passed at this time." I'm actually a little nervous. Gandalf gave me the low down on how Lord Elrond told everyone that I was sick, but he will not omit the fact that I have dark lord vibes within me… and that of a fellbeast's wing came out of my back…

"Good. There are to be no objections of Elena participating in this secret council for she has a part in this as well." He looked at everyone. I can see pissy faces on some of the elves I haven't met yet. I smiled to Glorfindel and I gave him a tiny wave. He just smiles back and gives me a slight nod. I looked around the council more and Aragorn nods his head to me and I nod back. Yup. That's the signal meaning Arwen told him about me. I scan a little bit and I see Legolas and Boromir looking quizzically at me about either my health or my presence… maybe even both.

Did they see what happened last night?

I'm nervous. I'm being spoken to so formally. Kinda reminds me a little of home when I work. You talk smack, cuss, use informal speech when outside the boardroom, but inside, be on your best behavior. That's what I should do here… so boring though… even when I read the book, I was a little bored at this part.

I look around again at all the guests in their chairs and I can see everyone's eyes on me. Oh man… if only you could check out the looks on those dwarves… Even some of the elves are looking at me funny, but with curiosity. I bet everyone must have caught wind of what happened to me. I bet everyone has in this city.

Damn. I just thought of something… is this going to be like the book or the movie?

Lord Elrond then began to speak:

"Strangers from distant lands, friends of old… you've been summoned here to answer the threat of Mordor. Middle-Earth stands upon the brink of destruction. None can escape it. You will unite or you will fall. Each race is bound to this fate, this one doom."

Lord Elrond extended his red-brown robed hand to point out the pedestal."Bring forth the Ring, Frodo."

He just called out Frodo. Alright. This is where it starts.

I turn to look at him and he back to me. His face is almost looking at me as if to say he's asking if this was alright. I simply nod my head to him and let go of his hand. He gets off his chair and walks hesitantly to the flat pedestal and sets the Ring in the middle of it.

**"Sot it is true." I heard Boromir say, as he strokes his chin with his rough hands. I see everyone whispering to each other. Frodo takes his seat. I put my hand on the arm rests of our chairs as an offer, and he takes it again. I give a little shake and he shrugs.

I felt a pulse in my chest and I cough. Gandalf takes his hand and pats my back, and he places it on his lap again. I nodded my thanks. Frodo turns to me and I nod to him signaling him I'm good.

It couldn't have been the Ring. It didn't do anything at all when I first embraced Frodo yesterday… is it because it's so exposed right now? Sensing everyone's uneasiness? Too easy… come on now…

I even see Legolas' vision homing in on it and Aragorn looking uncomfortable. Gimli is like, whatever and focused.

I see Boromir stand. Ruh-roh. I know where this is heading…

He speaks:

"In a dream…I saw the eastern sky grow dark…" He scratches his head or moves strands of his hair from his forehead away but I cannot tell. "…but in the West a pale light lingered." He takes a step. "A voice was crying: 'Your doom is near at hand. Isildur's Bane is found." And closer… he's getting closer… I see Gandalf and Lord Elrond looking at each other as if planning something out. Boromir's hand reaches for the Ring, "Isildur's Bane."

Now I think this is where I first fudged up. Should I let everything happen like this? I'm looking at someone WHO WILL DIE later on… and Boromir seems hella nice really. He doesn't seem so bad… If I could, I would try to stop any deaths of the good people from happening. I should do something right!?

He's a good guy! I know he is! He's a messenger! He's seeking council, asking for help… and he's already made out to be the bad guy? No! I don't want it to be this way!

"Keep away from the ring!" I stood up and yelled not letting go of Frodo's hand. FML what did I just do!? Everyone stared at me in surprise by my outburst, but I was too late for my good intention gesture.

"Boromir!" Lord Elrond called out his name and stood from his chair.

His focus was shaken and he whipped up his head and looked at me and retracted his hand, but it was too late. The looming shadow and dire deep conjuring voice of Gandalf had sounded. I haven't heard his voice like that since he conjured that quick fireball when we were attacked by the Nazgul in the past.

I was feeling weird. I really was… I looked around and I see all the elves going through the same kind of migraine feeling as I was. Lord Elrond looking faint, Legolas trying to be a trooper about it, and the rest of the elves, even Glorfindel, rubbing their foreheads or simply gripping their armrests. Boromir looked like a little kid being caught doing something bad. You know, it's funnier in person to see Gimli panic.

Then I started coughing. I felt pressure in my head and in my chest. I covered my mouth with my free hand and began to cough once again.

_**Accept me, Elena.**_

The Ring! That was Sauron's voice.

_**Accept that of an immortal's life. You are afraid to die. You are afraid to be old. Have the skills and birthright of an elf and gain power. Accept me, and you will rule all.**_

NEVER!

I cleared my throat and my coughing fit was over. The shadows had passed and I pat my chest. I felt something sticky in my hand as I did so. I take a look… it was blood. Gandalf had sat up after this shadowy fiasco. And I was good again like the rest of the elves. I showed my hand to Gandalf and he looked scared for me too. He took his free hand that isn't hold his staff and rubbed it on his lap. I took it as a sign to mimic it. "Are you feeling ill again?" He whispered to me. I whisper back, "No. I feel great now, right after that happened. It's weird…" He nodded and he rubbed my upper back again. I trembled at his touch, but then I relaxed… "I'm scared… really scared…" This… all of this is too heavy for me…

"Never before has any voice uttered the words of that tongue here in Imaldris." He said to Gandalf.

Gandalf adjusted in his robes and looked around at all the council, mainly Boromir. "I do not ask your pardon, Master Elrond…for the Black Speech of Mordor…may yet be heard…in every corner of the West! The Ring is altogether evil." Then he takes his seat.

Then this part really stretches. The council then speaks of how Gandalf and Aragorn encountered Gollum, and he was entrusted as a prisoner to the Elves of Mirkwood. But then, of course, Legolas pretty much fudged it up right here. "Alas! Alas!" Legolas showed distress on his face. "The tidings that I was sent to bring must now be told. They are not good, but only here have I learned how evil they may seem to this company. Smeagol, who is now called Gollum, has escaped." He confesses.

Then he goes on that Gollum didn't escape, but it was because of the Elves of Mirkwood were 'overly kind'. They were, not keeping him underground. Gloin then decided to chime in with his good line, "You were less tender to me." Of course referring when King Thranduil imprisoned him by mistake so long ago. After that tidbit resolved itself, Legolas continued his story of Gollum.

"Overly-kind? More like idiocy…" I whispered under my breath.

"How dare you!" He doesn't look very nice anymore as he sharply turned his head toward me and glared. Shit… Elves… can hear muttered things. Damn. "It's true! Why would you simply let free a creature that cried out for it's precious?" I just shook my head and waved him off. Bitchy move, but come on… 'overly kind'? Piss off. "You will apologize for your outburst, Elena! You will not disrespect any member here in this council." I just raised an eye as I turned my head to Lord Elrond. I shrugged and nodded my head and I turned back to Greenleaf here. "Apologies for my… outburst." I did outbursts in air quotes. I see Legolas just roll his eyes. Damn… in the books he is a little haughty… but that's okay. Not like I'm going anywhere. He's the one leaving.

Things moved on when Gandalf explained to the council that he had spoken with Radagast, and how he was actually captured by Saruman and finding me stuck at the top of the Orthanc, which was sorta a lie, and everything else was omitted by Gandalf.

"So that's how he found you?" Frodo was the first to break the slience. "And that's why we did not meet at The Prancing Pony?"

"Yes, my dear boy." That's all he could say. I know he says more in the books, but it's not happening. This is both movie and book that's going on right now.

Then Boromir looks to me for some reason and I just shake my head. Don't say it's a gift…

He shakes his own head and points to the ring and he stands. "It is a gift. A gift to the foes of Mordor. Why not use this Ring?" Now he's really letting go. I swear, I used to tell my friends he could use a MS Powerpoint presentation for this. He'd be a good speaker.

Frodo lets go of my hand and his eyes caught the blood stain on my other hand while I was trying to wipe it on my lap since the fabric was black.

"Elena-" He whispers but I cut him off what a shh. I shook my head and used my eyebrow to tell him to pay attention to the council. I looked around to see if anyone heard him, but I see Legolas and Glorfindel look at me. I just shrugged my eyebrows and went on looking at Boromir.

"Long has my father, the Steward of Gondor…kept the forces of Mordor at bay. By the blood of our people…are your lands kept safe." Aragorn shifts in his seat. "Give Gondor the weapon of the enemy. Let us use it against him."

Aragorn's turn… 3,2,1…

"You cannot wield it. None of us can. The One Ring answers to Sauron alone. It has no other master."

"And what would a Ranger know of this matter?" And Boromir challenges… then

"This is no mere Ranger. He is Aragorn, son of Arathorn. You owe him your allegiance." Well thanks for giving it away… would've been nice as a secret too.

Boromir shocked expression and Frodo's too, turn their heads to face Aragorn.

Boromir speaks. "Aragorn. This is Isildur's heir?" Yep, and good looking too.

"And heir to the throne of Gondor." Legolas responds.

"_Sit down, Legolas." _Aragorn says in Elvish. I at least know what that means.

Boromir turns to Legolas and responds snidely. "Gondor has no king." He walks back to the chair while saying, "Gondor needs no king." And he sits. He looks at me all pissy like and I covered my mouth. Doing the girly thing to show my shock and surprise at his behavior. I want him to change. I want him to have no regrets.

I clasp my hands together in hopes that Boromir would see me pleading to him, "Please Boromir. Everything you have thought about the Ring is true. It is extremely powerful, but it corrupts even the best of us. Why wouldn't Gandalf or Lord Elrond take it? It's because they know, being more powerful and wisest of all of us here, they would succumb to the Ring of Power… please believe me when I tell you this…"

"And what would you know of anything? What would a she-elf like yourself have anything to do with this? Are you here to claim it for yourself?!" He dares yell at me from his chair?! Mutha- ooooooo!

"It's because I'm wiser than you and I listen to my elders! Men before you had the ring, and what makes you so special that you can suddenly wield something that a dark lord created?! Don't touch that ring! Don't even think about it! Avoid it so you don't get yourself killed!" I teared up because I was so frustrated with this manly BS. I don't care if everyone's eyes are on me.

The elves look at me with questioning eyes when Boromir called me a she-elf. Damn… getting complicated. I hear whispers. I briefly close my eyes to try and focus on their secret conversations. "She is Elf? That cannot be. She does not share the glowing descendents of The Valar or of our Creator. She is more the daughter of Man." Then the rest was Elvish. I see Glorfindel making the shh sounds to keep them quiet and he just shakes his head and waves me a 'don't worry about' gesture.

Boromir's look somehow softened and then he decided to keep up appearances. "How dare you speak to me-" Boromir was cut off.

"Enough Boromir! Elena and Aragorn are right. We cannot use it." Gandalf mentions it.

"You have only one choice." Lord Elrond stood. "The Ring must be destroyed."

"What are we waiting for?" Gimli takes his axe and ready to strike. "No don't!" I tried to yell out, but I was too slow in the action, but I was quick enough to bring Frodo to my chest to protect him from the pieces of the weapon that were flying around. I felt about two pebbles hit my forearm. We both jumped and I knew he saw the Eye of Sauron and felt a jolt of pain. I released him for I had my own jolt through my chest, but I heard him whisper a thank you.

I see Gimli being flown backwards on the ground and his brethren crowding around him.

Gandalf turns toward us and he pats mine and Frodo's backs. I wave my hand signaling I didn't need it, but I was clutching my chest, I patted Frodo's back. "We're fine. We're fine." I whispered to him. Chanting is the best way to convince yourself…

Everyone sees the ring still fully intact. Lord Elrond continues as if he was unfazed, "The Ring cannot be destroyed, Gimli, son of Gloin…by any craft that we possess. The Ring was made in the fires of Mount Doom. Only there can it be unmade. It must be taken deep into Mordor… and cast back into the fiery chasm from whence it came.

As he was saying this I hear dark ominous whispers that I do not understand…

"One of you must do this."

I couldn't help but turn to Boromir at this point… He's just so famous for this part…

"One does not simply walk into Mordor." This time I let out a cough giggle. Couldn't help it. I'm a child of the internet…I shrug in my seat. "It's Black Gates are guarded by more than just Orcs. There is evil there that does not sleep. The Great Eye is ever-watchful."

I rolled my eyes, "Don't I know it…" I said to myself, but I forgot that elves could hear me. I attracted some onlookers… must be careful… Even Aragorn expression is telling me to keep my mouth shut.

"It is a barren wasteland, riddled with fire, and ash and dust. The very air you breathe is a poisonous fume. Not with 10,000 men could you do this. It is folly."

The Legolas stands up again and he's a wee frustrated. "Have you heard nothing Lord Elrond said? The Ring must be destroyed."

"And I suppose you think you are the one to do it!" Gimli yelled out and now it's Boromir's turn to rise. "And if we fail, what then? What happens when Sauron takes back what is his?"

"I will be dead before I see the Ring in the hands of an Elf!" Gimli yelled out again. Arrogant… hey, defending daddy's honor is cool too, I guess.

Everyone rises and argues. "Never trust an elf!" Gimli's distrust since The Hobbit. Poor Gloin. I see Gandalf shake his head and rises too trying to get his point across. "Do you not understand? While you bicker amongst yourselves, Sauron's power grows! None can escape it! You'll all be destroyed!"

Frodo takes my hand again and he brings it to his forehead then to his chest. We see everyone bickering, feeling the darkness from the One Ring. He looks to me sadly and let's go of my hand.

He stands.

"I will take it. I will take it." He walks towards the center trying to get everyone's attention. This really breaks my heart. Someone so young, so small, to take on the world's fate… I can see Lord Elrond's hesitation.

I see Gandalf's sadness in his eyes, and everyone's shocked expressions all slowly turning to face him say, "I will take the Ring to Mordor. Though, I do not know the way."

"Frodo…" Was all I could muster…

Gandalf walks closer to him to stand by his side. "I will help you bear this burden, Frodo Baggins… as long as it is yours to bear."

Aragorn then rises, "If by my life or death I can protect you…I will." He kneels to Frodo and takes his hand. "You have my sword." Then he rises to stand by him.

Gandalf and Lord Elrond share party eye contact. Meaning that they smile in triumphant that people are joining.

"And you have my bow." Legolas' turn.

"And my axe." Gimli's turn. So hilarious to see Legolas' 'gawd damn it' face when Gimli volunteers. I chuckle to myself.

Then Boromir… "You carry the fates of us all, little one. If indeed this is the will of the Council then Gondor will see it done." Oh Boromir… I just cover my face. How can you really see the people who will go through danger and say nothing? It breaks my heart.

"Hey!" I see Samwise running out of his leafy hiding place. He stands next to Frodo crossing his arms. "Frodo's not going anywhere without me."

Lord Elrond sort of hmphs. "It is hardly possible to separate you… even when he is summoned to a secret Council and you are not." Oh my goodness, don't be so uptight, but of course, I bet he knew.

Then the troublemakers! Queue their scene now! "Oi! We're coming too!" Pippin' and Merry come running up the steps to stand next to their hobbit friends. "You'll have to send us home tied up in a sack to stop us."

"Anyway, you need people of intelligence on this sort of… mission…. Quest. Thing." Oh Pippin. I half smiled…

"Well that rules you out, Pip." I love it how Merry tries to keep Pippin in check.

Lord Elrond examines the group before him and smiles. "Nine Companions. So be it. You shall be the Fellowship of the Ring." Lord Elrond declared. No need to appoint anyone, this time round.

"Great! Where we going?" Gawd damn it Pip…

"A nice pickle we have landed ourselves in, Mr. Frodo!" Samwise said, shaking his head.

"Quite the pickle indeed…" I said. Lord Elrond then turned his attention to me as did everyone else… Damn I miss pickles… now I'm thinking of burgers… I miss burgers… The Habit, McDonalds, Carl's Jr., restaurant burgers…nomnomnom

I shake out of my daydreams.

Shit, did I just ruin a good moment or something? Everyone is looking at me funny…

"Elena you are to be going with them as well." Lord Elrond declared to me.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!?" I stood up really fast this time, but I held my sides in pain. Being sore sucks!

"Lord Elrond, don't you have your senses? She cannot accompany us." Aragorn turned to him with a shocked face. "She is likely to posses little to no battle skills whatsoever."

"That is sooooo true! You can't do this to me. You can't send me off to battle. I'll get killed out there! Please don't send me away!" I begged and I was freaking out. I stood from my seat and I was standing beside him tripping balls.

"Aragorn is right, Master Elrond. Why is there a reason for someone so unsuitable to travel with them?" Yeah! Ask him Glorfindel! Ask him! I don't want to go! My eyes are so panicky. I look at Glorfindel, to Aragorn, to Boromir, to Legolas, and back to Lord Elrond. See! No one is happy with me going! The last two are just as baffled as me!

"If four little Halflings join this Fellowship, then why not this woman? Hear me! This is my order! Elena, you are to join this Fellowship and seek out your purpose. Your guardian is going with them and so shall you. You can no longer stay here in Imaldris. We shall prepare you in your departure along with them." I see Lord Elrond's face becoming really frustrated. What? No no no no no!

"You want me to die!? Is that it!? You want me to die so whatever is inside me would go away huh! No! I won't go with them!" I start to breathe heavily. "I promise nothing is bad is going to happen. I won't change! Just don't send me away." I'm completely embarrassing myself, but I don't care. I'll do anything not to go.

"Confound it Elena! You are to respect Lord Elrond while you are in his house! Cease your childish temper at once!" I turn to my 'granddad'.

"Gandalf? But I can't. I'll die… if I were to travel just me and you, I can do that. It's like avoiding danger, but going with this group, that is feeding me to the dogs. I have no training, no instincts, no background, I don't even cook or clean or do anything. I'm not a typical girl here. Please, don't make me go…" I pleaded to Gandalf, walking up to him and grabbed him by his robes, I was tearing up and my voice was cracking. A girl like me, only been in a cat fight a few times and winning isn't exactly comparable to swords, knives, bows and arrows, shields, armors… magic… trolls, balrogs, orcs, uruk-hai…etc… oh the etcetera…

"Lord Elrond's word and mine are final." His face is so firm. My tears don't stop…

"Lord Elrond, if I may ask, why are you letting this she-elf join us if she has no experience whatsoever? She will more than likely be a burden than useful." Boromir crossed his arms and gestured his hand to me as if I was nothing. Just looking at me up and down.

"Do not call her a she-elf! She is no child of the Elves! She is of the Race of Men!" Legolas, made his way through the little group that he was behind of when they faced me and pointed at me. Jesus. You might as well scream out witch! Guess he's a little pissed because I called him out earlier.

I started to get scared then the Hobbits started to crowd around me. "You leave her alone, Elf! Or I'll have you!" I see Sam and Pippin put up their fists. "You should not treat a lady so!" Said Merry putting his hands on his hips and raising his chin trying to seem bigger than he is.

"A lady she is not! I believe she is purposefully omitting information and this council confusing her for an elf when clearly she isn't." Legolas pointed out and he's glaring at me. He can look scary.

"Then if she is not elf, nor of man, what is she? Who are you really?" Boromir asked. Things are getting ugly… and I'm getting nervous. Gandalf starts to walk in front of me and Glorfindel starts to walk towards me and turns around.

"No one is to disrespect this woman! No one is to speak ill of her in any way!" Lord Elrond finally spoke up. He's the one that put me on the spot of everything, and now he wants to defend me? I don't understand him. Everyone got quiet though. "If you all will take your seats, we shall explain." Everyone had their guard up. The Elves, Dwarves, Boromir and some of his crew had their guard up and were glaring at me as they were all sitting down and adjusting themselves in their seats. I had Gandalf and Glorfindel in front of me and the Hobbits were then in front of them. They're not leaving me by myself. Frodo is next to me holding my hand while this whole thing turned for the worse.

"This woman you see before you has come from another world that is very different from ours. She has come to Middle-Earth as a seer and knows the outcome of this war. She is, as of right now, neither a daughter of Man nor Elf." Lord Elrond finished.

"Does this mean she is of your kind, Master Elrond?" Aragorn spoke up. I know he knows, but maybe he's trying to break the ice for me a bit. I turned to look at his face in between the spaces of Glorfindel and Gandalf, and he gives me a slight nod.

"I am afraid it is quiet literal in this sense. Elena, you will need to show them." Gandalf said as he faced the council and he and Glorfindel stepped aside, but I remained behind the hobbits. They were like a security blanket for me right now. I looked at Glorfindel's face and he slightly nodded and smiled. He mouthed the words, "Go on. No one will hurt you." I nodded and Gandalf gave me a nudge. "Alright. Alright." I said and then I looked to the council myself… Good God. I have never had this type of attention before.

"It's true. I was human. But then I was stolen from my world and then I descended here in Middle-Earth. I appeared before Gandalf and he found me this way. I couldn't believe it. I am stuck in between two different races because my transition has been, well, interrupted, so to speak." I slowly took my hands and lifted them to the sides of my head. I paused knowing damn well this could ruin me. Or at least the beginning…

I lifted up my hair and held it on the top of my head. I turned my head to one side and then to the other side exposing both my ears and I immediately hear gasps and whispers. "Currently what has changed about my body is that my left ear has taken on the shape that of Elves, and my right ear has remained to what I call my normal ear, my ear of mortal men. My left eye is that of an elf and I can see extremely far that I never had before and so clearly and my left ear can hear things that of pin drop at a very far distance. It is hard at times when focusing on hearing or seeing due to the different characteristics of my new found heightened, and yet, unbalanced senses. It's quite annoying."

I can just feel everyone's uneasiness. "How did you come upon this world, Lass?" Gimil asked me. He seems very interested in me like a specimen, uhhh… something new to learn about. That's when Gandalf cleared his throat. He looked down on me and said, "We'll have to tell them. Since they know about the Ring, they should know about you." Gandalf stepped forward and was near the platform pedestal of where the Ring was laid. Great… the possibility of being shunned is upon me…

I only whispered aloud, "Please don't hate me…"

"Elena had come upon this world as a mere little light. A light that had taken the shape of Sauron's enflamed eye." Gasps are heard again. Glorfindel puts his hand on my shoulder and I take my opposite hand and give it a quick squeeze before I put it at my side again. Gandalf continues to speak. "But then that light had turn into something white and when it had touched the floor before me while I was trapped at the top of the Orthanc, it had given shape and revealed it was Elena. She was burned, injured, bloodied and branded." I looked around at all the eyes. I even glanced behind me to see Erestor sitting. "Rest easy," he said, "no harm will come to you, for that, Lord Elrond and I promise." That is the first thing he's ever said to me. I could only nod and bring my eyebrows into worry and turned my attention back to the others.

"Saruman, has spoken that Elena, had been summoned by the Dark Lord Sauron himself, and used whatever remaining energy that his predecessor had given to him, is now within Elena for the sole purpose that she is to be used as Sauron's vessel!" I think Gandalf got a little carried away because he got a little theatrical. Everyone was completely shocked. I can hear it now:

"By the Valar!"

"This cannot be true!"

"How is this even possible?!"

"We must do away with her then! She cannot be walking around with Dark Lord Morgoth's energy!" I don't even care who spoke. I covered my ears not wanting to hear more.

That's when Aragorn stood up and I heard his chair move and I stared at him. "None of you know of the turmoil of this young girl! She is but a child compared to the rest of us, bearing this burden on her own. She is like Frodo, bearing evil so close, and yet, they are the only ones who are resisting. Nay, do not condemn her, for she may yet be set free!" He came to my side and the hobbits gave way for him. He kneeled before me this time and took my hand. "If by my life, I can protect you as well, then I shall." I was so baffled by this sudden declaration.

"Aragorn…" I was all but too happy in my speech. He stood up and took a place by my side.

"Yes, you cannot harm her, for we do not know what may happen to the energy inside her. Will it take over her? Will it consume her? Will it transfer to another? Share your answer if you know what is to pass before us!" Gandalf really did say all that stuff. Nice. Everyone around me started to look even more uncomfortable. "Moving on, she does carry the energy of the Dark Lord Morgoth's, who is said to be sealed into the void and it relates to this that somehow, this energy was transferred to Sauron to be then transferred to Elena when he summoned her. He tried to manipulate her body by forcing it to be the race of elves, but her grasp and connection to her mortality has kept her from fully becoming an elf. Sauron desires the race of elves for their gifts and immortality, but as you can see, Elena has yet to succumbed to it." I could only nod.

I guess he's omitting the wing from last night…

"She is my dearest friend and no one is to harm her." Frodo, wow. He holds my hand tighter. The other hobbits around me relax a little, but still glaring at the council.

"She is to be with the Fellowship. I am her guardian and she is not to be without me." Gandalf stated.

"This is madness… utter madness. I will not travel with the vessel of evil." Legolas sneered at me.

"You have already agreed, and they will need your help. Do not dishonor your kin by turning back on your word so quickly. You are not obliged to protect her. That will be up to Gandalf and Aragorn." Lord Elrond said. Legolas, being in Elrond's house, did not protest.

Gimli then walked up to me, "Elena, though I do not sense anything dangerous from you, but I wouldn't want you to come with us if it means your death." I looked at his eyes, and that was so sweet. "I know Gimli. I know of what will pass on this journey. I also want to protect you all as much as I can. Thank you for not shunning me."

"Aye. I will take my leave since everything has been decided. I have no qualms if she is to join us." He, his father and his band of dwarves left the council.

"This will end the council. You all shall leave within two months time. We will take advantage of this time to do any tasks and training that is necessary for this journey." Lord Elrond declared. And everyone decided to disperse. I see Legolas and Boromir just glaring at me as they walked away. Fuck man… those two guys were pretty nice to me and they do a one-eighty on me…

I turned toward Aragorn's direction and he looked at me, "I guess I should formally introduce myself. Heh, I'm Elena, vessel to the Dark Lord." I could only nervously laugh. Aragorn cracked a smile and said, "As revealed by Legolas of Mirkwood, I am Aragorn, Son of Arathorn, descendent of Isildur's evil connection to the Ring of Power that he didn't throw into the fires of Mount Doom."

"Yes, I have heard of you. It's a pleasure to meet you Lord Aragorn." I curtsied and he kissed the top of my hand. "We have a lot to talk about." The hobbits looked up at me from where I stood, and I could tell that Glorfindel was leaning in. "Yeah, some information to share. Let's go talk about it somewhere else…" and the six of us leave to go somewhere else for a chat.

* * *

"Elena!"

I first realize my consciousness is fully aware when I am straight up from I laid, sweat dripping down my face, I could feel my heart beating rapidly and I breath deep and fast.

"Layla! Easy. Take it easy." I feel two hands on my shoulders and then I turn to the one whose hands they belonged to. I stared into a pair of beautiful crystallized eyes that I can just swim in for days, stared at the silvery light yellow hair, my eyes following along his facial features…

"Haldir? What happened? What's going on?" I feel confused. I slick my hair back with one of my hands.

"Layla, take it easy and lie back down. Please trust me. You are safe. Everything is fine. I'm alright."

"What? Wha?" I feel very confused. "What happened? Tell me what happened?" My breathing is starting to get slower. Then I remembered! I started to get a little panicky and started rubbing Haldir's body. "Are you okay?! Should you be up right now? Still bleeding? Why aren't you in bed?!" I took a good look at him and he's wearing his regular brownish tunic outfit.

"Slow down Layla. Breathe and slow down. Don't you remember what happened?" Hm… I got comfortable on the bed and I was sitting Indian style going into thinking mode… let's see, "I was panicking over you, Lady Galadriel pressuring me to heal you, but I just didn't know how! And then… I felt as if I was in a heavenly state of mind. I felt light as a feather… then I thought I couldn't hear anymore… I saw your wounds closed, and then, that's it." That's all I remembered…

"Layla, you had saved me and I thank you for that." He took a seat on my bed next to me and faced me holding my hands. "But something extraordinary happened. You had sprouted large angelic white wings, that even seemed that the Valar should only posses such appearance. You were very much the site to see." He outstretched a hand to my face to caress my cheek and I leaned into his hand… so warm… "Dearest Layla, as beautiful and remarkable as you looked, I was stunned, but I also feared for you." I raised an eyebrow.

"I'm scared too Haldir. I felt those wings come out of me, but they slipped out as if I slipped off a jacket. Smooth and no pain. And I think this is why I felt Elena's pain. I think I actually felt her." Haldir's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

I took a deep breath and I covered my face with my hands and I rubbed my temples. "I think… I really think… the same time I had sprouted my wings, so did Elena, but with her, it was very painful. I had dreamt I was right there with her, as if I could actually see her. I think, my missing her, is actually making that connection. Lady Galadriel has mentioned to me that somehow she and I are not only connected through our friendship, but because how we got to this world, is what is keeping us together. I may have angelic white feathered wings, but from what I have dreamt, she is cursed with that of what I saw was a demonic wing. Only one had sprouted and she was in the most painful moment of her life. Haldir, it was horrible." I couldn't even focus on what had happened to Haldir. I mean, I thought I almost lost him, and then to actually dream of Elena? Was it a dream? Was I actually there to witness everything that went though, and when the wing had feathered away and disappeared, that is when I could no longer see her.

"Haldir, I thought I was going to lose you, and now that I see that you are fine, I see that Elena is in deep with this. I thought I saw someone with her in the room, but I could not tell. He looked like he was helping her. I honestly hope she is being helped Haldir. I would lose my mind if something bad were to happen to her." He took me into his embrace and then I just cried. I cried and sniffled into his chest and we wrapped our arms around each other. I shook in his embrace and he just rubbed my back in circles saying things to me that she is alright, think positive, I am sure you will see her soon, and The Valar will protect her.

I hope so. I think I saw Lord Elrond who was with her… and maybe Gandalf too… God I hope she is with them… I hope whatever pain she is going through, it will pass…

I looked up at him and I smiled. "I'm so happy I didn't lose you. I would have seriously lost my mind if I did. Don't scare me like that again!" I laughed and took back a quick breath to stop myself from breaking down again.

I see him smirk a bit. Hmm… "What?" I asked. He just rolled his eyes. "The Lady who told you to save me will be the one to tell you what this expression means." I just rolled my eyes. I didn't care at this moment… I just want to be pampered right now. I looked down and it seemed like I was wearing a nightgown and I saw through the material and I was wearing a white band that was pretty tight, but gave me support.

"I wish I could just look for her. I wouldn't know where to start though. Plus, she's like me. We know these lands, and we would probably look for the bigger landmarks. I'm here, so since I know she's out there, somewhere that I think doesn't seem like landmark we would stay at, she would move on. I have to stay… as much as it kills me." I pouted and Haldir handed me a tissues to blow my nose and dry my eyes. "This royally sucks." I sighed.

I feel his eyes on me and he caresses some hair behind my ear. "I know this pains you. I would feel it too, if it were any of my brothers, but you do have this feeling that she is with someone safe. I can see it on your face. You will continue to develop you special abilities and your archery for when the time asks for it." I simply nod my head and I meet his face. "How do you always have something to day to help me move on?"

He does his haughty scoff that I love. "It is a part of my charm and wisdom. I have been an elf much longer than you have."

I slightly slap his shoulder. "Ever the ego…" He gently pushes me down on the bed and he snuggles against me. "You should feel privileged. You have been the only one to challenge me." I just pft and we laid there in silence and then we both fell into a light cat nap.


	8. Things I Do To Pass The Time…

Disclaimer: I own nothing of LOTR, any of P!nk's songs or of Avicii's. Get it? Got it? Good. Leave me alone lawyers.

**I DO NOT HAVE A BETA**. No beta! I made this so it makes sense. I created this fic out **of pure enjoyment**. I really and seriously hope you all do enjoy it though.

There is swearing. You are warned.

This chapter is still in Rivendell. Just to read about some time that the Elena and some of the Fellowship are up two during this time before they embark on the jouney. Sorry for the OOCness. Lol sorry I think I made this chapter a little too long. XP

POV as follows: Elena, Aragorn, Arwen, Elena

Please review about correcting me on grammar, spelling, punctuation etc. If you would like **please PM only if you would like to send me links to better my writing, you may but only through PM!**

I hope you enjoy and review!

* * *

Chapter 8: Things I Do To Pass The Time…

Oh this has been on helluva week and a half… the only good part of it now is that I finally got to meet Bilbo. He was definitely getting up there in age, and he is slower now, but we had a good chat. Frodo set up one afternoon, just the three of us, and I listened to Bilbo speak of his times when he traveled around and when he confronted the dragon. He told it to me as if I was but a tiny young hobbit child. I couldn't help but smile. Frodo told him of what happened during and after the council and Bilbo couldn't believe the behavior of the elves of how they were treating me. He apologized for them to me. I told him not to worry about it and we dropped the subject. I hate to be reminded that already no one likes me here, but hey, when you have haters, usually it means you are on their minds. And I thrive in it. At least I know no one will hurt me here.

But that was the only good day of meeting someone new.

It's been about ten days since the Council of Elrond, and I feel like I'm living out a stupid ass high school drama. Who knew that elves being so wise and gentle can take that tone and still become the bullies of Rivendell High.

I walk through the halls and of course news had spread to what I am. They can't harm me at all, which probably is because both Gandalf and Lord Elrond are looking out for me, but that doesn't stop the drama of it all. I get the glares, the sneers, the eye rollings, and such when I'm seen. Some elves even turn around and go the other direction when they see me. I just sigh and shake my head. Sometimes I'll even say, "This is not a good start for me either you know!"

But alas, no one really understands me. When I can't sleep, which is probably going to happen for a long time, I go for walks around Rivendell. I bumped into Boromir once, and he just basically called me an evil witch. I tried to plead with him that I'm not here to do any harm nor do I ever intend to. But after trying to tell him that I'm just a scaredy cat, he says, "I shall not listen to such nonsense. Be gone from my sight, Witch!"

As I saw him walk away from me, all I could say was, "I'm not a witch…" I pouted.

I don't have anything against witches. Matter of fact, everything and anyone can kill you with just about everything and anything… but I know I'm not a witch. I don't have powers or I'm not in tune with a god or… wait. Right… the dark lord thing… does that actually count? It's only his energy… maaaaaaaaaaaaan!

I've been a pretty tough cookie most of my life when it comes to bullying like that. I never had any harsh physical things happen like food thrown, pigs blood Carrie movie shit, but you know, the shunning and sneers and false gossip about me, but whatever. That carries from school to your new workplace because when you are a woman trying to go for the top, a lot of men and of course women, will become your haters and shun you there too if you don't know how to play your cards right.

Those and cat bar fights, are the only things I have going for me when it comes to being thick skinned.

Nothing to do with magic, swords, bows and arrows, knives, and killing… I've never killed anything before except for bugs! And it's really hard to kill spiders… I hate spiders!

After that night tiny confrontational night with Boromir, I decided to go see Gandalf the next morning. When you go through some bullying, it's important to talk it out with someone to help you out with your feelings.

He saw my face as I entered his room. He was wearing his usual grey wizardly robes, sitting in his chair smoking his pipeweed. Seemed like he was reading something as he put down his parchment on his desk next to him.

"Oh Elena. Did you have another day of taunts and sneers and glares?" He asked. He used his hand to instruct me to sit on the bed adjacent to him. "Yeah. It was rough. All the glares and avoidance is really pissing me off, and it's nothing I can't handle. I have you, Arwen, the hobbits including Bilbo, Aragorn, Glorfindel, Lord Elrond, and yeah. It's like you guys are my fellowship." He smiled and I chuckled a bit. "I just wish I could make them understand that I'm okay to talk to, hang out with, and just be you know… I'm not the plague or anything! I can be in close proximity to someone."

He just keeps up with his pipeweed and nods his head. "This is a very difficult time. You are being shunned by the very beings that can shed light upon you and guide you to good, but they also do not accept you for you carry energy that is many years beyond your lifetime that almost tore down this land. They do not know of what you will become." I see him adjust in his seat a bit so he turns his posture fully to me. "Tell me Elena, have you been sleeping? Under your eyes, the color is starting to darken."

I look down and at my lap and stare at the color of the dress that I'm wearing today. A soft velvet grey color and silver embroidery trims along the edges with of course, my signature fave bell sleeve cuffs at the wrist area. I feel magical with this style.

"Barely. I try to sleep, but it just doesn't kick in. I've been feeling restless ever since… that one night. I just don't know what's going on anymore inside of me. I think it may be because of the Ring, and the included paranoia that the Eye of Sauron is basically keeping an eye on us." I shake my head and let out a breath.

"You will need more sleep and be up to par on your physical stature before we embark on this journey. I will need your mind clear of stress." He said matter of factly! Gawd! It's like doing PE… fuck PE… but I guess I would've taken it more seriously if I knew I was going to be transported to another world!

"Yeah yeah I know that. I hate all this walking and running and running and walking. I just wanna sleep and research on how to get home and find Layla. I don't even want to go to Mordor." I'm pretty damn stubborn. I want my car, I want to be in my apartment, I just wanna go to work, see my family and friends, hang out at the clubs, hit the raves… "I want my life back. I didn't do anything wrong. I was a good girl Gandalf. I didn't need any saving nor did I want to try to save a world. I barely got a hold of mine… I'm just a city girl barely making way in her life… On the plus side though, being in another world is the best way to get away from your ex-husband." I ran my hand through my hair.

"Your ex-husband?" Uh-oh… I just let some personal information out. He seems interested. "Yeah. I left my ex-husband about a year and a half ago."

"Elena, I didn't know you were married. What do you mean your ex-husband? Help me understand." Here we go. "Long story short, ex attached to a title of your significant other means you are no longer with them. I had a husband, he wanted to be with another woman, and when that didn't work out in his favor, he wanted to come back to me. I told him no. We were only married for two years, and I knew we got married too young." Gandalf seemed like he pondered. Knowing this type of society, being married in your early 20s is ideal among regular humans, but hey, I thought I was in love. "In my world being 24 and married, it's either too early or just the right age to be married. I thought I had found the one man who was right for me, but it turns out, he wasn't. Before he found the other woman though, we already started to drift apart. He thought he could change me, control my behavior… basically he would be mad when I didn't do what I was told. We had lots of fun going through courtship, so we thought being married was the next step. Then after he had his affair, that's when he realized how important I was to him, but I didn't budge. I left him. He tries to contact me asking for a second chance, but I refuse him. I need someone better who already knows I am important and valued."

"Quite the story Elena. I know you have learned much about yourself in the end and your value. That man didn't know what to do with himself once he had lost both of the women in his life. Your heart is strong. I'm sure you will find the right person for you, but choose carefully this time. You are not immortal." He nods slowly, taking another puff from his pipe.

"Thank God for that. I don't want to be. If I was the only immortal out of my social circle, I would have to see my family and friends die and that would be heartbreaking indeed. Might even lose the appreciation for life." That's how I felt anyway.

He puts his pipe on his desk and takes both my hands into his and says in his Granddad voice to me. "Now you will do as I say. You will be strong. You will get stronger. You will learn how to fight and defend yourself. You will build your stamina, endurance, strength, anything that will help you to endure these harsh conditions that we will face on this journey. You will need to keep up with everything. This time, I cannot wait for you. I will make sure you use every last bit of yourself to stay alive." He then places his hand on my cheek…

So this is the feeling of a caring grandfather… my grandparents died when I was a toddler, so I don't really know the feeling.

"You will be fine. Aragorn and I will be there to help you when we see you are in turmoil of if you are simply just… stuck." I just smile. He retracts his hand and I just nod. "Thanks Gandalf. I knew I could talk to you about anything."

"You may come to me anytime. About your training, Aragorn and Glorfindel will teach you the ways of the sword, and Aragorn may teach you the skill in archery. At first, I had thought of the Mirkwood Prince, but then I started to remember his behavior during the council when he interacted with you." Ha ha… yeeeeeeeeeeaaah…

"Ha, yeah, he's a no go. He hates my guts through and through. Before he found out what I was, he was all nice… and then bam! Shunning as if I was a dwarf." I shrug and shake my head. "I'm not looking forward to this Granddad, but I will do my best!" I did like a muscle man pose, showing off what little biceps I have…

"That's way to be. I'm proud of you. You are quite the unordinary young woman, but you are gradually growing, and before you say you haven't, yes you are. I'm telling you this right now, you are growing into a more mature adult." Eek, that's not good.

"Aw jeeze… I'll never grow up! I just learn when to be serious." I just stick my tongue out in jest and we share a light laugh.

After some more chatting, Gandalf told me to go find Aragorn and Glorfindel to talk about my training that will start soon. I'm sooooooooooo looking forward to that… NOT!

I was walking down the halls and I was merrily skipping down the halls, spinning in my dress feeling the magic of wearing something so feminine singing the song, "So What?" by P!nk.

"I guess I just lost my husband,

I don't know where he went.

So I'm gonna drink my money

I'm not gonna pay his rent, NOPE!

I got a brand new attitude

And I'm gonna wear it tonight.

I'm gonna get in trouble,

I wanna start a f-"

"Oooff!" I bumped into something and fell to the floor and not the lady like way. Flat on my ass with my hands keeping me upright, but my legs are spread open. If it wasn't for this dress covering me up, this moment could look a lot worse. "Hey, sorry about that I didn't know where I was going." I started to take my hands and clap them together to relieve some of the pain and check if I had any scrapes on them.

"I would rather this would never happen again, so please pay attention to where you are going, Witch!"

I looked up from where I was and I gulped and I quickly turned onto bitch mode. "Prince Legolas. I apologize. Next time, don't be too careless yourself if you think there is a 'witch' nearby." I said as I stood back on my two feet. "And confound it, I am not a witch! I'm somebody with a stroke of bad luck ever since I first came to Middle-Earth. If Gandalf, Lord Elrond, Aragorn, Arwen, the hobbits trust me, why can't you?!" I'm so tired of this high school shunning drama bullshit. I purposely didn't mention Gimli since well, they aren't BFFs yet…

"You are reserved for evil and for evil only. You may have been lying this entire time and have bewitched everyone into thinking you are this victim. I will make sure you don't betray us all once we depart from Rivendell." This elf can be scary. He's putting his guard up and he is maaaaaaaaaaaad…

"Come on, Legolas! I'm not evil at all! Please understand and don't shun me away. I didn't do anything that you have said. I just want help so that I can move forward on my own. And yes, I will be going with you all on this mission, as much as I don't want to, but I just want to protect all of you now! I want to do everything that I can to protect you and the others." I really do. I mean isn't that what a good seer does? Know the future, tries to guide it toward good or whatever…

Maybe even save Boromir…

"I cannot trust you. With you being a witch, you may have cast a spell to fawn over you. Perhaps that is why your husband had left you. Your spell upon him was broken and he was set free." I gasped… Did he hear me talking to Gandalf? Was it the song? Either way, I took it personally and I violently shoved him into a wall, but it didn't hurt him.

"How dare you! Don't you dare say things when you full well don't know anything!" I yelled at him. I practically did give it away that I had a husband once. I'm so retarded. God, he just looked at me with anger and as if I had the audacity to do what I did. "Good day, Your Majesty. With that tongue, you are no hero!" And I stuck out my tongue. "How dare you treat me this way?! Have you no manners, Witch?!"

"Damn it my name is Elena! For the last time I'm not a witch!"

And then I just walked off. You know, for the least talkative member of the fellowship, he can be a real ass.

Then I just started singing a different chorus a little louder so that this Sindarian elf and the other elves of this city can hear. Luckly it didn't have to be very loud since they all had their super elven hearing!

"So, so what?

I'm still a rock star

I got my rock moves

And I don't need you!

And guess what!

I'm having more fun

Now that we're done

I'm gonna show you tonight

I'm alright

I'm just fine…" and I started to fade out into that last word… Alone once again…

I start to skip over to the platform Gandalf mentioned to me about and I finally found some more sanctuary among so good people.

"Hey guys. How goes it?" I arrived as they were talking near a rail overlooking a very nice view. They turned around and greeted me and I quickly forget my foul mood from the Greenwood Prince.

"How has it been since the council?" Glorfindel asked. Of course he knows how everyone else is treating me. He crossed his arms. "Oh well you know, the whispers, the avoidance, so its good ole fashion shunning if you ask me." I plopped a hand on my hip.

"So then how are you fairing over all of this?" Aragorn asked me with his worried eyes.

"I'm okay actually. I've been through this sort of thing before, well who hasn't back in my world. You'll always have someone not liking you, but yeah. It's no big deal really. I try to convince whoever I bump into before they walk away, but they just won't listen. It's been some random elf walking by, Boromir, and I just bumped into Legolas." I hissed while I said the last name on my list.

"Not the nicest one so far?" Aragorn asked with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah. He just said something really mean, and I took it personally. Don't worry about it."

"I'll have to speak with him about it then. I'm sure he'll listen to me." I raise my hand in protest. "No. It's fine. He won't listen to reason right now just like the other elves in this kingdom. I believe they will come around on their own. I'm sure of it. And I have to be the one to convince them."

"You are very sure of yourself, Elena." Glorfindel smiled to me. "I'm not sure of myself at all. I'm only sure of my faith in others." They both nodded their heads in agreement.

"Now let us talk about what you will be doing about your physical capabilities. You must go change since from what Gandalf has said to us about you traveling together, you will need a lot… and I do mean this in a very heartwarming way, but you need a lot of training."

Shit… I sulk, pout, and roll my eyes and I drag my feet walking away. "Wear something light Elena!" I heard Glorfindel's light hearted voice. "Don't forget to wear your traveling boots!" Aragorn… already so fatherly. He'll make a great dad.

* * *

It has been quite the time training this young woman. I'm starting to believe that she has the mindset of a grown woman and that of an adolescent. It's quite heartwarming and frustrating to see her this way.

"Keep climbing the hill Elena! You haven't reached the top just yet." I couldn't help but laugh at her. I see her struggling, heaving breaths, sweating lines on the sides of her face… she is not used to it. It's as though she rarely does labor chores or even steps outside of her home. What is home to her, I do wonder.

"I'm trying, Estel! Let me focus!" This has been going on for about two weeks now and she is getting better. Before she would need to pant in between words just to yell at me. I can see Glorfindel is being rather obnoxious to her by demonstrating that he can do these things second nature while the both of us, and anyone else looking outside, can see her as if she will faint from all this activity.

"Freaking Aye, Glorfindel! Do you mind?! I'm in training here! Quit showing off!" I see the elf only laughing and offering her a hand to help her up, but she waves it off and then gets on all fours. "Do not give up Elena, you are surely almost there. Think of me as a guide and your reward." Oh? Do I sense a bit of flirtation from him?

"As long as punching you is the reward then awesome!" They shared light humor. Possibly not flirtation, but a connectivity of a friendship. They do get along very well.

I see her trudging more through the dirt and the sun's rays beating down on her. She is getting very tired, but we have only been at this for hours. She must be strong if we are to conquer long distances. She would need to build strength if she were to carry a sword and possibly a shield as well. I do worry for her, and since I do, I must protect her. She is very admirable to how she resists both the energy within her and the Ring of Power. I see her coughing at times, and though she tries to hide it, I do see a sprinkle of blood on it as she tries to wipe it on her darker clothing.

I must train her hard. We do not know what to expect on this journey. I fear it will bring darkness to us, but I know, where there is hope, there is light.

"Estel, can we please take a break?" I hear her yelling from the top of the hill. Good she made it. She does deserve a rest. I'm at the bottom of this hill, but she will need to work for it. Before, I would allow Glorfindel to carry her down, but this time, all on her own. "Only if you can trudge this hill back down on your own. Watch your footing, and for today, take your time, then you may rest!" I hear her complain and I laugh to myself. Glorfindel also shares in this humor and he watches her carefully to make sure she does not fall forward.

"How can you stand to be near her knowing of what she holds within her?" I felt another presence walk next to me. I already know who this is. The very elf who is in complete avoidance of her and grinds his teeth a little whenever I speak of her.

I turn to him, he's full of anxiety and anger in his expression. His blue eyes hide nothing of his feelings and I sense tremendous uneasiness. "Legolas, my friend, look at her." He turns his attention out onto the hill where Glorfindel and Elena are halfway down the tall hill. You can see Elena struggling, fearing of the invisible force wanting her to make her fall down, but she moves her arms and body to create an utmost ungraceful balance to keep her from falling.

"Does she really seem that she wants to do any harm to us or to Middle-Earth?" We continue to stare off looking at the pair on the hill.

"It may be a trick to make herself seem innocent. Even Glorfindel is sharing her presence with ease, which I find questioning. I'm afraid he has been spellbounded." I can tell he shakes his head.

"He is not fully at ease my friend and no he is not bewitched or anywhere close to it. Like you, he is fully aware and conscience of what is within her. He tells me that his chest feels heavy and at times feels faint, but he believes that she is here to do good, and that she can conquer this dark energy. At least, Gandalf, Lord Elrond, Arwen, the hobbits, even Gimli," Legolas does a frustrating sigh at the name of the dwarf, "know that she is not here to bring darkness. She is a victim in all of this and she wants to prove to herself and us that she can do more than just complain and cry. She doesn't want to be on this journey either, but she knows now that she cannot stay here. All I can do for her is offer my protection. She is quite the peculiar woman as well. I've never seen a woman like her of such oddity, but it is quite charming if you chisel your way through her walls." I couldn't help but smile. I turn to Legolas and he turns to me. "Legolas my dear friend, I know I do not have that sensitivity of sensing power and magic since I am not elf, but I believe in her. She will do good."

"Estel, I have not seen you speak with such kindness and care about someone, not since Lady Arwen. If you strongly believe that she is to do good, then I will treat her with more respect." We hear sounds of discomfort coming from the hill and Elena had fallen and started to roll for a little bit until Glorfindel stopped her path. Legolas and I hear not so graceful words.

"Fucking shit! That hurt! Gawd damn it! I am so tired of this! I just want to lie down!" We see her pouting as she is sitting on the ground with dirt on her face. "She can be very uncivilized, but she is rather kind, gentle, and sweet. You should see her with Frodo and the other hobbits." I mentioned but more trying to defend her. She almost appears motherly, sisterly, just an older female family figure when she is with them. "Would you like to come with me and encourage her? She has told me how you have mentioned her previous husband a fortnight ago." He was very harsh and Elena told me the story of what had happened. Very despicable of her husband to do that…

Legolas only shakes his head. "I cannot. I am not ready to accept her, though I will no longer bring ill will to her, but I cannot just bring myself so easily and be as if no evil is within her. I still sense it, and possibly I'll be able to adjust as Glorfindel has." He turns around and walk away. Knowing that he is still within earshot, I continue to speak and Elena comes up running, limping, but running. "Was that the Mirkwood prince?" She was panting and tried to look over my shoulder.

"Yes it was. He was letting me know that I should speak with Lord Elrond sometime today after your training." Her posture fell and her face almost seemed disappointed.

"I guess he still hates me right? I don't blame him though. I just oughta kick his ass for talkin' shit about my ex-marriage!" I laugh. She knows she doesn't have a chance, but she doesn't show any fear when threatening a prince. I wonder if Legolas had heard it.

Glorfindel comes up behind her a little later letting us know that he needed to back on a scouting mission. Elena had a different disappointed look on her face only because I know she'll be missing one of her only elven friends, besides Arwen. "Promise you'll miss me?" She pouted playfully.

"It never occurred to me to even think of you." She took it as good humor and lightly elbowed him in the chest and he pretended to be in pain. "You take care of yourself then." I said to him. "Thank you, Estel. I wish you the best of luck in training this uncouth young she-demon." The elf then ruffles her hair and they bid their farewells. "Come back soon!" She yelled to him and waved and he waved, not turning around running to his party.

"He'll be back, don't you worry." I put a hand on her shoulder. "Yeah I know. It's just… it's more nerve wracking. In my world, we have devices that at the simple touch of your fingers, you can communicate with someone almost anywhere in the world if they had a device of their own on the other end. Here, it's like, I start to miss them already because I can't send a message to them that they can receive quickly and easily." She sighs with sadness and smile on her face.

I spin her around and I start pushing her towards the concrete platform area that had a bench and wooden model swords. "No more training for today. I'm so tired…" She whines. "Can't we just stop for today?"

I shake my head and pick up one of them and toss them to her. She catches it pretty quickly, so her reflexes are still alert. I pick up the other and then I take my stance. "This will be the first lesson to handling a sword. Practice these exercises and once you are successful, we shall move onto footwork. Your training days from now on will not only be focusing on your physical endurance, but now to combat. Next, we can try archery." She groans and I happen to smile. I don't know if I like this sort of power… but in the mean time, I will enjoy it. Perhaps this is a fatherly/brother feeling as well.

* * *

I take a peek from the balcony of where I stand watching Elena and Aragorn practice her swordsmanship. It is quite the sight to see if you were to ask me. It is not every day that you see a woman practicing for physical combat. I muster a slight giggle.

"Arwen, what has your attention that brightens up your beautiful face." I turn around from where I stand and I see my father walking toward me and I point down to the ground from the balcony. "She is practicing the way of the sword with him." He already knew who I was referring to and he came to the edge and saw most of the practice with me.

"Ow! Estel! That hurt! Can't I just go back to doing some stabbing moves!? I don't want to learn how to parry today. I'm so tired!" We see her just be sloppy as Aragorn tries hard to correct her footing and rhythm. It's as if they are having a contest of who can yell the loudest. "Elena! Please pay attention as we do not have too much time to focus on rest right now. We now have less than two months for you to be at least basic ready for start of the journey." I can tell she just rolls her eyes and they continue parrying, but slower. I can see that Aragorn adjusted his speed so she can see where he is going, but she still trips and falls and Aragorn is quickly to help her back up.

"She is very clumsy. I almost regret to see her leave when the time comes. I don't know if she really will have the strength within herself to survive out there." My father looks worried as he looks down and smooth out his robes. "Oh Ada, I know she will be fine. I even believe that she will somehow change things around for herself. I know she will. She has the strong desire to do so."

"I don't even know for sure if she is able to conquer this evil within her. This is Morgoth's energy that we are all sensing here in Imaldris, and she must leave, but she is someone so young. Extremely young." I can see his worry is very much open to me now.

"I worry for her too Ada. She has become such a dear friend to me. It has taken her some time, but she has accepted that she must leave, and she will go with the Ringbearer. I will miss her so much and always worry for her safety." He brings me to an embrace. "It is very selfish of your ada to be somewhat happy that it is her leaving and not you. We shall continue to spend time with her and help her in any way that we can."

"It's alright Ada. I love you as well." I smiled into his embrace. He lets me go and we continue to watch from the balcony. "She will need much work." My father said and we kept the laughter silent to ourselves.

* * *

Arwen took me to the bathing room that I used when I first arrived to Rivendell. I love this room. Besides the kitchen, my bedroom, this is like, definitely in my top three. I'm starting to really like baths. I splash around a little with my hands soaking in all the oils, including medicinal ones, into my skin.

I have been at this for over a fucking month! I'm barely getting the hang of this and Aragorn said I get to be upgraded to a real fucking sword this week and on to practice real battle stuff. He said I would need to learn how to use a shield since he and Gandalf agree that I should focus on staying alive and only attack when absolutely necessary.

I had just finished another lesson with Aragorn today and Gandalf supervised… not the first time. "Oh! Elena, be careful of where you swing your sword! Elena! Watch your feet! Elena! Don't look at me like that; I'm trying to help you." I couldn't help but snicker as I try to imitate Gandalf in a horrible impersonation voice. Aragorn says I'm doing better, but I know it's not going to ever be enough. I cannot be some amazing badass shieldmaiden like Eowyn in two months!

I bring up my hands through the water and I see the blisters appearing on the cushiony part below the fingers, just above the palms. Even using the fingerless gloves that Aragorn let me have, they aren't enough if you never held a sword before. A few a ripped open and sting like hell. I look at my arms and my legs and I see the purple bruises, and on my stomach too! Drag…

No wonder it's so painful to move around. I get whacked many times by Aragorn, and I don't blame him. That's how many times I could've been killed really if it were a real battle. This is so terrifying… I look back to my hands which are very tender, a little bloody on the insides, but they're getting cleaned at least. The medicine does sting like heck, but I'm just that kind of masochist… even during massages- if it doesn't hurt, it's not working- weird I know. Ugh, I just noticed abrasions on my knuckles and forearms too. My skin is drying… I need the lotion on my skin or else I get the… not hose, but more whackings… and next time, its real swords, so it may be slicing.

I slowly hang onto the rims of the tub and I pull myself up and limp over to where a robe was hanging on a wall close by. " Ow ow ow ow ow ow..." I said with every mixed sliding step and actual step. I finally reach it and I feel the pain of stretching out my arms. I grabbed another cloth towel and I start to dry my hair, and of course, magic cloth or amazing material, my hair is quickly drying as towel absorbs almost all of the water. "I wish I had this towel back home. Would save me a lot of time." I said to myself. Every girl could use this. I had to be careful though. Some of my blisters are still open, but I won't wrap them just yet. I want them to dry out and then put bandages on.

I walk into the mini room and I see Arwen waiting for me with a new dress. I love it… she knows by now that blue is forever my favorite color. She saw my legs that were exposed at the ends of the robes and she shook her head. Hey I'm embarrassed too. My legs are hairy as hell. "I don't know how you do it Elena. So much pain during your sword practice. Perhaps I should talk to Aragorn to see if he would take it easy on you." Oh she didn't say anything about it.

I went behind a dressing screen and took off my robe and I slipped on a band to hold my boobs, not the greatest bra, but it holds. "No way! I have to learn the realities of battle. I know it's the only way I'll learn. I know I'll be battles, for that I am sure, but right now, my mind hasn't realized how real this will be."

I hear her sigh, "But you are scared and yell every time he attacks you. I only worry for you."

I slip the dress over my head and I smooth it out on my body. Oooooo! Not bell sleeves today, but slim sleeves that has a triangle end leading to my middle finger. It's the style that you can slip a ring on your middle ringer. Sweet. Very Victorian and elegant. Cobalt blue color with silver flowered embroidery, on the edges of the hem. I come out and I point to my stomach. Her dresses are starting to fit me better… YEEESSSSSSSSSSS! I turn my attention back to the conversation.

"I know you do. I hate getting hurt. I stumble, I'm in pain, my blisters on my hands are killing me, the bruises are practically taking over my skin color and hella hurt, and the soreness of it all… I feel so stiff. I'm always scared of everything, but I just can't let it stop me from trying. I'm going to be leaving Rivendell with the Fellowship, and I have to learn how to defend myself if not attack." I shrug and shake my head.

Arwen and I keep chatting throughout the halls, me calming her about getting my ass handed during practice, what she does on her free time in Rivendell, and she asked me how I was handling the energy.

"It gets tough at times. I feel this constant weight, I see the eye in my dreams sometimes trying to persuade me to accept the power, but I tell him I don't need it. I don't need this power at all. I don't want to be immortal anyway, even though a lot of people back in my world, they would absolutely want it."

"If it weren't for this power, but you could be immortal, would you take it?" She asked

"Nope. Not at all. Don't get me wrong, I'm hella scared of losing time on things I want to do, growing old, withering, and death, but I don't think it would be nice to be the only one immortal and then see your family and friends die. Plus I don't think their offspring would want to be friends with a weirdo like me." I giggled and so did Arwen.

"You are a peculiar girl, that is set in stone, but to hold a friendship with you, I would never get tired of it." She smiled and shook her head slowly.

"That very sweet of you. It really does assure me that it is okay to still be who I am, though I don't care who really tells me to stop." I said haughty tone. "No one can stop this one from expressing her true feelings! And neither should you Arwen." You know what the funny thing is, I taught her how to high five. Of course she only does it with me because no one else gets it. "After all, I know your of your decision to be with Aragorn. That's why we sort of think alike." I winked at her.

"Of course. I knew you knew this information already because you are a little bit of a seer."

"Just a little bit. I just wish I can know what would happen to me. I mean, with this energy in me, if I accidently do accept this, if were to go berserk, that's when I would get killed, right?" I did a nervous chuckle.

We didn't say anything after that. She yawned and embraced me and whispered goodnight and "Don't lose yourself." And I nodded. She let me go and held my cheek with her hand. It's so smooth. I almost feel like as if she was a mom giving advice to her adult child. "I won't. I refuse to give in. I can use all the help I can get. You know I'm not from around here." I grinned.

We bid each other a goodnight and I walk myself to my room and she gave me a roll of bandages to wrap my hands in. My blisters are almost dried and good for me to put these suckers on for the night. Aragorn said I can take the day off tomorrow. Woo hoo!

But on my way to my room, my vision got a little blurry, probably because I'm exhausted and I bumped into someone.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't see where I was going." I rubbed my nose a little bit to rub away a little pain I had.

"Don't touch me, Witch." Such a deep and dark voice was heard. My vision readjusts and I see the owner of the voice. I see a very irritated and tired Boromir. I know Lord Elrond has been sending out him, Legolas, Aragorn, on scouting missions, especially Aragorn because of his connection to the Dunadain.

I just sighed and looked at his angry face. I just give up. I can't get through to him. "Boromir. Please don't die. Please don't be controlled by the Ring of Power. I'll miss you if you do. I really would." He was taken aback, so shocked by my ambiguous prediction of his fate.

"Witchcraft! You she-devil, what are you saying?!" He gets closer to me and I just gulped and I'm stuck.

"You seem very kind, and considering that I know what will happen, if you continue on this p-p-path." He's so pissed and I'm fucking scared. "I don't want to see you die. We may not have had a great first impression, b-b-but I care about you. You are a part of the Fellowship now and I don't want to see anything bad happen to you!" I whispered very loudly and raspy. I don't want anyone to wake up and see this.

"A witch that sees the future… As you said, I did cut my myself on the night I first arrived here." He's starting to ponder things and calming down… "Somehow, you are controlling things." He's backing away from me. "But how can I truly put forth my trust into something that carries evil?"

I sorta huffed a bit. "I'm not a something Son of Gondor! I'm a woman, stuck in a world I am most unfamiliar with. I'm away from everything I have ever known and ridiculously terrified. I am scared beyond belief every day. I have elves shunning me and I don't want you shunning me like they do even if Lady Arwen and Lord Elrond accept me. I have been suffering each day since I have arrived in Middle-Earth and the fear of a being wanting to take over me, is… again, terrifying and violating." I laid out all my cards on how I truly feel. "Please believe me that I do not even know how to activate anything, but I get all the negative effects." Then I really look him in the eye. "Please Boromir, this Ring of Power brings death, and if you continue to think the way you do, it will bring you to your death." Then a giant bold move that I'm not sure if I'm going to regret it or not

"Faramir wouldn't want you to die…"

His energy starts to rise again and looks at me wide eyed and it puts me back up to the wall. "How do you know of my brother!? Answer me!" He yells at me to my face and I flinch.

"Boromir! Enough!"

"Elena, over here!"

I whip my head to see down the hall the owner of those voices. "Aragorn! Frodo!" I jog it over there and I quickly stand behind them. "Boromir, I see that you are tired. Please rest for the night." Aragorn had said. Boromir glared at the three of us and he walked away. "Conniving Witch." I heard him whisper.

Once he walked away, I let out a huge breath I didn't even realized I was holding. "He is one scary guy." The both of them turned to me. "Elena, you have to be careful with him. He believes you will bring great evil." Aragorn said. "He didn't hurt you, did he?" Frodo asked. I just shook my head.

"Thanks for coming to my rescue though. I don't blame him being scared. I technically do hold great evil. Not sure of when it will be brought out." I shrugged. No one said anything.

"I will bid you a goodnight right now then. I need to rest after training you and tomorrow I am needed again for more scouting. Glorfindel will help you in your achery while I am away once your hands heal a little." He smiles and ruffles my hair a bit. "Yes father dearest. Have fun on your scouting mission." I just rolled my eyes. Whatever! I'm such a kid here, it's almost frustrating… then again… even the hobbits are older than me I think…

I'm like a big kid on the inside.

As Frodo and I see him walk away, he asks me, "Do you fear him?" I knew who he meant.

"Nah. He's just scared and worried for his people. He doesn't have a real grasp and realization that men cannot handle or control the ring. He does want to see this through."

"Still makes me very anxious to be around him. His eye is for certain on the Ring." I just nodded. "This is very true. Come on. I'll walk you to your room." I offered him.

"A lady walking a gentlehobbit to his room? I should be the one to walk you to your room." He corked his eyebrow with a half smile. I just stared down at him. "Well, I'm not a normal lady remember? Plus, there are times when the woman proposes to the man for marriage as well. That's how far women can fully express themselves in my world. It's all gender roles that we can take on Master Hobbit." I winked at him. He blushed a little. "No Frodo, I'm not asking you to marry me." I just rolled my eyes and smiled.

"That's good. I wouldn't know how to turn you down." Ha, this hobbit… "But it's alright. I'm thinking about going for a walk. I haven't been sleeping very well, and sometimes staring at the stares lulls me enough to go back to my room and sleep." I grabbed his hand. "Let's do it together this time. I've been having the worse luck trying to sleep with you know, the dark lord not so far from us." I shrugged and we walked.

I lead him to an open circular platform area. The moon is now shining on us and we sat down on a long bench.

"What were you like before you came to Middle-Earth?" Hmm… a sudden question. I looked at his face. I guess it is something to talk about to try to get tired to and head on to slumberland…

"Hm… I was just an average woman, really. I have a family, I had an education most of my life, and I had to work for a living. And what I work in is I worked for a business owner and I was his assistant." I'm really just a Plain Jane. "But I'll tell you a secret. I did have a husband for a little bit, but I left him. You see, in my world, if you were married by law, you can also leave your significant other by law." His eyes brightened as if I told him some gossip. "Why did you leave your husband?" And so I told him the same story I told Gandalf not so long ago. "We married a little young, we started to drift apart, he found another woman, I found out, and then he just magically thought everything would be okay after he left her. He found out how important I was after he committed adultery. That was about a couple of years ago now I think."

"I'm so sorry you had to go through that. Was it very painful?" I nodded my head. In the end it was. I started to really miss him after I left him. I started to wrap my hands in the bandages that Arwen gave me. Frodo then took it and helped me with it. I decided to keep talking.

"Yeah it was. I thought he was the love of my life. I tried to talk things out with him, but he decided to talk to another woman instead. He wasn't ready for marriage yet, but he married me anyway. But what can you do. So after I left him, I had started to live on my own, I went to work, and at certain times of the month or year, I would attend a music festival along with some friends."

That's when he asked me what kind of music it is… oh man… it was really hard to describe dubstep, EDM, drum 'n' bass… and other stuff. He just shrugged and gave up trying to understand. "You really have to be there for you to understand. Even people who have never heard of it have a hard time. "Tell you what, I'll just sing it to you, and you can try to sing it to a rhythm that will fit it." Since we all know that when this kind of music has lyrics, it's usually repetitive. Only these music genres… fuck you Pop music for saying the stupid shit over and over. It doesn't work for you.

"I have wondered what your singing would be like since you have no proper etiquette in your speech." He laughed. "Frodo, you tease. Hush up now. In advance I do apologize if my singing sucks and the melody sounds weird. I'll play the song for you some other time." He raised his eyebrows at me wondering how I would 'play' it for him, but he just shrugged it off. I don't just want to use my mp3 player all the time. I haven't turned it on for months! I would like to save as much juice as possible.

Once he properly wrapped my bandages on each of my hands and tied it, I then wrapped my arm around my shoulders and brought him closer to my embrace. I tried to make myself a tiny bit theatrical with the words. I'll let you guys imagine it.

"Looking up there's, always sky

Rest your head, I'll take you high

We won't fade into darkness

Won't let you fade into darkness

Why worry now

You'll be safe

Hold my hand, just in case (I hold Frodo's hand and he makes eye contact with me now so I'm serenading hime now.)

And we won't fade into darkness

Fade into darkness

No we won't fade into darkness

Fade into darkness

Fade into darkness

And we won't fade into darkness

Fade into darkness

No we won't fade into darkness

This world can seem cold and gray

But you and I are here today (I use my finger to point to him and I.)

And we won't fade into darkness

Fade into darkness

Nothing to fear but fear itself

We'll be ok just keep the faith (I get up and then I went down one knee and I put his hands in between mine in the prayer position.)

And we won't fade into darkness

"We won't fade into darkness…" And I did a quick twirl letting my dress flow and when I faced him again, I bowed.

"Elena, you certainly do have a lovely voice." Sweet. I made Frodo smile.

"Why thank you Master Frodo. I do try to entertain." I kneeled down before him and I looked straight into his eyes. His smile then turned into a questioning look. "Frodo. Please remember this song and remember me, us. Don't you ever fade into darkness. If you won't, I won't either. This journey is a difficult one. You are the only one who can do this Frodo, and I wholeheartedly believe in you that you will destroy this Ring. I have my moments where I can resist it as good as you, but I still have times where I just want to take it from you. But as long as I see you resisting it, it gives me the motivation to always do the right thing. I will be with you if not physically, but always spiritually. Plus, as we know, the two times you put the Ring on, I appeared where you are in the shadows until you take it off."

I see Frodo nod and then got super serious and anxious. "Elena, will I succeed in destroying this evil?" I can't say yes because it might give him too much confidence that he will, but it's not a not either because he really can do it. I just looked at him in the eye and said, "You have to Frodo. If not for Middle-Earth, then for me. If not for me, then for Middle-Earth. If that Ring isn't destroyed, I cannot be set free and Middle-Earth will never be at peace. I will help you as much as I can." I smiled and he stood up and gave me a really big hug.

"I will do it Elena. I will. I'm just so fearful of what is to come." He let go of me and then I stood up as well. "So am I Frodo. I'm right there along with you. At least you were born in this world. I'm from a whole different one." I chuckled and so did he. "You are fitting in nicely. I was always the peculiar hobbit along with Bilbo back at the shire. I think we have been getting along just fine."

Frodo yawned and stretched his arms. "Thank you for singing me the song Elena. I will treasure those words. Are you going to sleep now?" He asked me.

I shook my head. "Nah, not yet. I'm not sleepy. Plus, my chest feels heavy I think for being too close to the Ring right now." He looked worried and used his hand to put it on his chest. "Don't worry Frodo. This is something to get used to since we will be traveling together." I smiled the best I could. I've been breathing heavily and slowly, but I keep a steady rhythm. He just nodded. "Please sleep soon Elena. I do not want you to collapse all because you were spending time with me."

"Pish posh, don't you fret. I'll be fine. Go on. Have yourself a good night." He waves me off and I wave back.

I sit back down on the bench we were just at and I look up into the stars. Jeeze, there really are a million of them. So beautiful. I started to sing a random verse.

"And we won't fade into darkness

Fade into darkness

No we won't fade into darkness

This world can seem cold and gray

But you and I are here today

And we won't fade into darkness

Fade into darkness…"

"I don't want to fade into the darkness… please… I don't want to fade…" I did a small wish to whatever is out there to help give me strength to not only to Frodo, but for myself as well.

I started to shiver…

I breathe a little heavier and I start to have another coughing fit. I quickly cover my mouth and I started to feel dizzy. After my fit and looked at my hand.

Blood… again… how much blood do I really lose? I need to see Gandalf. He makes a relief potion that will help me ease this chest pain, and then I go to sleep quickly afterwards.

"Gandalf…" I start to get up slowly.

Instead of walking, I drag my feet. "Come on… you can do it Elena." I feel so disoriented now… shit… I try to shake my head to keep me focused and out of the blur.

"Fuck this…" I found a wall to lean on and I slid down to the floor. I have no idea where I am, and so I decided to shut my eyes.

"I will take you to Gandalf." That was the last thing I heard. I felt like someone was carrying me bridal style before passing out.


	9. Turned the Other Cheek

Disclaimer: I have never owned any LOTR or any of its affiliates.

Curious about the song in the last chapter? It's by one of my fave artists: "Fade Into Darkness" by Avicii. I have no ownership at all to it. Also, one of my other fave songs in here, if you are a Firefly fan, sweet… sing it in your head – "The Ballad of Serenity" theme song version. I do not own that all either. Everything is to their appropriate owners.

To my reviewers who asked, you have received! POV: All Legolas. It's hard for me to adapt to appropriate linguistics of speech to how they formally talk in Middle-Earth, so my bad! XD Also, sorry it's so darn CHEESEY! BAHAHAHA :P

DO NOT FLAME ME FOR GRAMMAR/SPELLING BECAUSE I KNOW ABOUT IT. I DO NOT HAVE A BETA! Please PM me if you would like to assist me in those areas including punctuation. I don't take it seriously enough because this is just for fun. This is enough to make sense of it yourself and sorry if this throws you off.

This is all for my own pure enjoyment and I hope you all will enjoy it as well. Don't forget to review! :D

* * *

Chapter 9: Turned the Other Cheek

I had just arrived just after nightfall from a scouting mission, when I had heard of the witch and the hobbit who bears the Ring of Power sitting together on a bench in an open circled stone area chatting away. My first instinct was to keep an eye on her in case she tries to take the ring the Ringbearer. I carefully lightfooted my way behind walls an pillars until she was in my eyesight and path in case I needed to hold her down.

But I couldn't help be distracted by their conversation.

So indeed she was married. Perhaps I have had some prejudice against men who can take on multiple partners in their lifetime while the elves have but one and we tend to not to move onto another partner if something happens to our significant other.

So she has not bewitched her husband after all. After her husband had the affair, he wanted the witch back more than ever, but she refused him. Very intriguing. Seems as though she wanted to express how much worth she is. That is an excellent thought she had shared. You want to be with your love who already values your importance and not to enlighten you after such a grave mistake. I do wonder, why not find another husband. She is no elf, so why is she taking her time in finding another one? I do not understand the Race of Men at times, but it may be possible that her values are a little different than the values are held here. Curiosity of cultures has sprung my mind. I really shouldn't have said that her husband was bewitched and then set free. That comment, when I look back, was completely inappropriate and insulting.

I witness to see that she brings the Ringbearer closer to her embrace. I bring my guard and reach for bow and arrow that are on my back. I quietly draw an arrow on my bow and take aim. She may be doing something to him, until I heard a sweet, soft, clear voice of her song…

Looking up there's, always sky

Rest your head, I'll take you high

We won't fade into darkness

Won't let you fade into darkness

Why worry now

You'll be safe

Hold my hand, just in case

And we won't fade into darkness

Fade into darkness

No we won't fade into darkness

Fade into darkness

Fade into darkness

And we won't fade into darkness

Fade into darkness

No we won't fade into darkness

This world can seem cold and gray

But you and I are here today (I started to lower my bow.)

And we won't fade into darkness

Fade into darkness

Nothing to fear but fear itself

We'll be ok just keep the faith

And we won't fade into darkness

"We won't fade into darkness…"

By the Valar, how can this woman, with such a soothing soft sound come out of her? It is not perfect, this is very true, but I am shocked that a normal soothing sound came from her mouth. This song fits the both of them so well. I shake my head. No! This is how she bewitches males of all races! I draw my bow again, until I see her kneel before Frodo. I hear her speaking to him as if she cares for him very much, to remember the song she had sang, to not fade into the darkness. This song matches the state of their minds very much as well. She almost seems as if she is begging for him to not to go into the darkness. But how can this be? She IS the darkness. I do not understand!

She does not want the energy inside her to consume her either. She is very afraid.

I can see it now. She truly does not wish harm on us. I lower my bow again to put it away on my back this time. She encourages Frodo to destroy the Ring; he is the only one, but that she will always be there for him. And if that the Ring of Power is not destroyed, than she nor Middle-Earth will be set free from it. I see on the hobbit's face that he is inspired and encouraged to aspire to destroy the evil that sits with them both, but he still holds so much fear.

I witness the young hobbit yawn and thanks her for her singing. She is not perfect like an elf, but for her, it quite fits her. I was almost captured by it due to the words, the situation, her melody and tone, it had all come together to fit the scenario set before me.

She sits down on the bench again after they had bid each other goodnight. She is not tired as of yet? It is so late and I do know that men and women tend to sleep at this time of night. She sees the stars and I see her close her eyes. She almost looks very elegant right now. The stars are shining bright, her dress slightly glitters under the moonlight, and her hair flowing because of a normal breeze.

I listen to her sing the words again.

"And we won't fade into darkness

Fade into darkness

No we won't fade into darkness

This world may seem cold and gray

But you and I are here today

And we won't fade into darkness

Fade into darkness…"

She sang that verse again. Has this world been cruel to her? I know I haven't treated her much better. I have treated her all wrong. No one here is bewitched or spell bounded. She is a scared little girl who came upon our world in the worse circumstances.

"I don't want to fade into darkness… please… I don't want to fade…" I see her talk to herself, begging to anything that will hear her and grant her wish. She wishes to not be evil; she does not want to lose.

I have been wrong about her this entire time… what have I done?

I see her body tremble. Perhaps she is cold. I hear her breathing becoming heavier and she begins coughing. It looked as though she may vomit by such a force she is using. She finishes and then she looks at her hand that she used to cover her mouth. I'm still very reluctant in getting closer to her. I don't know if that power will have the same effect it does on Glorfindel or something different. I need to approach this slowly.

Blood. Her own blood on her hand. Is she feeling the illness again as when it was the night before the counsel? But there was so much blood in her room, there was no way her coughs were that terrible to spread it amongst a room. This is something different… something different is happening now then what had happened in her room.

I started to move away from where I had hid in the shadows once she started to rise from where she sat. "Gandalf…" I heard her voice, raspy and low. She could not walk properly as I see her drag her feet. I had stayed behind her at bit of a distance. "Elena? Can you hear me?" She didn't even pay attention to me. She focused on walking until I heard her use curse words when we entered a hallway. "Fuck this…" She put her back onto a wall and slid down. I rushed to her side and I had felt her forehead. She is very warm! I don't even think she knows that I am right in front her.

I then feel a sudden heavy weight on my chest, in which I start to breathe just a bit slower and deeper. This is perhaps what Glorfindel must feel when he is close to her. This is when I must overcome my fear and prejudice against her. She and Frodo are the real victims in the ordeal. How could I have been so insensitive all this time? I see her face is sweating and her breathing is still heavy and slow. I must do the right thing. She has been this way entire time since the Council of Elrond, trying to convince everyone that she is not evil and that she will now do her best in aiding the Fellowship. Then it dawned on me: I actually said something terrible about her failed marriage.

"I will take you to Gandalf." I had said to her. I don't even know if she heard me this time. I place one arm under her bent knees and another arm on her back and I begin to lift her and quickly rush my way to Gandalf's quarters. I stumble a bit being surprised by her weight. A little heavier than other women I have carried to safety in the past.

I try to run swiftly with ease to not disgruntle her in my arms. "Please don't hurt me…" She says in her delirium. My heart goes out to her as she said this. She still asks that no one hurts her. No one has. The other elves, with the exception of Lord Elrond and Lady Arwen, shun her. Is it possible since I am making contact, she thinks that I will hurt her?

"No one will harm you. Gandalf will take care of you." She nods slowly in my embrace and rubs her head closer in between my arm and my chest. Such an innocent gesture. This fouled mouth, pestering, unlady like young woman can look so childlike and peaceful. I can see a hint of beauty even through her heavy breathing, blood stained mouth area. She looks as though I had just found her near a distraught village.

I arrive to Gandalf's quarters and notice that there is a light. Good, it seems that he still awake. I adjust myself a bit and Elena so that I may talk on the door three times. I hear footsteps and Gandalf opens the door. He looks to me and then to Elena, smoking his pipeweed.

"Seems as though you have run into some sort of trouble there, Your Majesty." He seems very serious at this moment, not taking his eyes off of me. He moves to one side and nods his head toward his bed. I quickly rush in and set Elena down. I gather a pillow for her and move it under her head making sure she is comfortable.

"Is there anything that I should know about, Legolas?" I look back towards the voice, and Gandalf is now standing by his desk, close to the bed. He looks quite frightening by candlelight.

"Gandalf, please do not imply that I had done any harm to Elena. I had found her in her in this condition as I came back from s scouting mission." Though I do not blame him for having such assumptions. I have not treated this girl very well since she was revealed to hold the energy of the Dark Lord Morgoth.

I believe that Gandalf has seen truth upon my face, for he lowers his guarded face and nods. "Tell me what you have seen." He asked.

"I had come back from scouting trip and I came upon her and Frodo having a light chat. I don't know how long it was, but he had just bid her farewell. She sat down on a bench, I saw her coughing and when she had finished and pulled back her hand, I had seen that she had shed blood from her mouth, to which I believe is from her coughing. Then she had tried to go see you, but she could barely walk. She had to drag her feet to move, until she gave up and slid down a hallway. She never noticed my presence at all. I feel it in her temperature that she is very hot, and sweating. Her breathing rhythm fears me as well because I do not believe men have that as a normal rhythm. Then again, she is only half man."

Gandalf nods, absorbing all the information I had just recited. He reaches to his desk, opens a drawer, and pulls out a vile of a blue potion perhaps. "Give this to Elena, and she will recover from this. This is not a cure, but rather a treatment that can erase her symptoms temporarily, but not her energy." He hands me the vile that is only but the size of my palm and as wide as my thumb. "Why must I give it to her?" I do have to ask.

I see Gandalf leaving for the door already. "I have no intention to just sit here and dawdle. She will be fine and will recover once you get her to drink the solution. I must inform Lord Elrond immediately of whenever Elena has a reaction to the energy. The faster I go, the faster he'll know. Thank you Legolas. You have done your good deed for her. You owe her no more." And he shuts the door behind him.

I stand there in between the desk and the bed looking at the door dumbfounded. I turn back to Elena and I see her having another coughing scenario. She sits up quickly covering her mouth with one hand and other hand supports her balance. I rush to her side and sit on the bed next to her form. I lightly rub her upper back and gently pat it. I don't know what to do with this, but she hasn't swatted me away yet. Once she was done, she took her hand away and we had seen more fresh blood on her hand.

"Damn it. Damn it…" She sounds like as if she is about to cry. "When is this going to stop…?" I do feel sorry for her at this point.

She truly is cursed.

"I don't know when it will. You must endure this alone." Was all I could say. I do not think she realized I was there in the room with her until she whipped her head and I noticed our faces were very close.

She seemed baffled by my presence. "Wha-wha-what are you doing here?" She leapt off the bed quickly and pointed at me, but she almost stumbled. "Are you here to kill me Mirkwood Prince!?" She yelled. "Shh! Not so loud! No I am not here to kill you!" I hissed. I had risen my hands to show that I will do no harm to her. "Please calm down and rest. You had been coughing, and you have lost blood. Please don't put yourself in such hysterical behavior and rest." I tried to encourage, but she doesn't believe me.

"Yeah right. I bet all the elves around here chose you to kill me! I'm not here to do… I'm not…going to do anything bad. I promise." I see tears streaming down her face. All this time she is undergoing so much stress and difficulty and being ill at the same time, is not the best time to express it, but it seems as though she has reached a peak.

"Please listen Elena. We are in Gandalf's quarters right now and he has given me this potion to help you get better. See?" I showed her the vile. We had the bed in between us, so I outstretched my arm to help her get a closer look. She walked a few steps toward the bed, leaned towards it to see the solution, and stood up straight again. "No! You have poison! Gandalf wouldn't give that vile to anyone!"

I was getting frustrated. "You stubborn little girl! I am trying to help you! Who do you think brought you here in this room when you were just about to be in the cold and faint!" Her facial expression brought her anger into a meaning of calm and realization.

"You did? That can't be right. You hate me. Everyone does." She is shocked.

"I do… I did. I don't know. Perhaps not anymore. I have seen the truth now that you are not here to do us harm, on purpose that is." I shrugged my shoulders. I brought my arm back to my side.

"You did know it, but you were too stupid to realize it." She huffed. Alright. I suppose for being blind by my own prejudice against her, I wasn't in my right thoughts and logic, let alone compassion.

"Alas! I do believe you now." Before I could say anymore, she started to lose her center of balance and was about to fall the ground until I leapt onto the bed then to the floor on her side to catch her. I brought her to my embrace again and she looked up.

Her face was glistening under the candlelight which caused a gentle glow on her face, her eyes are of a deep brown, and her hair, quite odd, she has brown, some black, and some blue in it, by the back of her neck. How did she achieve such a color. I think she has noticed that my eyes trailed to her hair because she answered my question.

"The blue in my hair… it is from intense color dying. Completely normal and fun thing to do in my world." She giggles. "I miss home…" She breathes in deeply. I notice the blood is around her lip area. I don't know what possessed me, but I use the sleeve of my forearm to wipe it away from her mouth. After two to three wipes she was clean again. She grins. "Thank you, Master Elf." She wipes her hand that she used to cough with on her dress. After quite a few wipes, she shows it to me that it is clean. "Well done." She stares into my eyes this time…

"Wow. You have the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen. Enchanting crystallized blue, like the oceans, and a hint of gray streaks. A color I never ever see. Your hair so blond and shiny, that never falters even during a battle." I couldn't help but looking at her in a strange way. She is not like others I have met.

"Thank you for the compliment Elena. Now you really must rest. Take the potion and sleep." I lifted her up back into my arms and settled her on the bed. I put a blanket over her and I see her nestle herself underneath the covers. I hand her the vile and she drank it on her own. Almost immediately, her eyes begin to shut.

"Thanks Prince. You know, you're not so bad after all." She said and took a deep breath.

"Neither are you Elena." I start to make my way to the exit until I feel as though guilt as stuck me in my chest. I have treated her poorly, even haughtily at times during her stay here in Rivendell.

"You haven't left yet." I hear her sigh.

"Yes." I catch my breath as if I was caught.

"You can go back to your room now. Don't worry about anything. Gandalf will be back soon, that's for sure. He just has to tell Lord Elrond what happened. It's not the first time."

Not the first time? "Oh. I will bid you goodnight then." This is the moment for me to leave then.

"Good-"She coughs a little. I couldn't help but try to look, make myself taller or lean to the side, to see if she is spreading blood. "Night."

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. No blood."

"That's a relief." And I was. I have such a pang in my heart now of how I treated this woman, I can at least see that she is doing worse. I wonder if she has any ill will against me. Possibly revenge?

"You can go. Have a good night, Prince. And thank you." I shook my head. I cannot see her facial reactions because her back is to me, but I can tell in her voice, that she is trying to stay as melancholy as possible.

I shrugged a bit, not wanting to be called by my title. "Please call me Legolas, Elena." Then I see her turn over from her bed, and on her face, is it the look of hope?

"So… I'll see you around?"

I sigh with a half grin. "Around the city? Most likely. Goodnight." This is when I made my exit back to my flet. I laughed softly to myself. How many times did we just say goodnight to each other?

I think to myself, there seems to be no distress in her voice. She does not sound or appear angry at me.

We shall see what happens tomorrow.

* * *

Should I check on her on how she is doing this day? It is almost the beginning of the afternoon, and I haven't seen her yet.

No. She is fine and has Gandalf to look after her. As he said, she is of no concern of mine. Though once you see what I have seen, you cannot help but to slightly worry and be more curious about her. Was it the same illness that I had seen that one night before the Council of Elrond? How many times has this happened to her? I don't even know her that well and I'm going to be on a journey with her for some time.

Even the dwarf, Gimli, has spent time with her drinking ale and other wines.

What have I been doing? Glorfindel, Arwen, and Lord Elrond, possibly Erestor, are the only elves in this city who respect her and dare I say, find her charming? They seem to develop closer relationships than respect.

This is too much to think about. Perhaps, I should do what the others do and just, talk with her.

A new day has sprung and I am already out and about in Rivendell and walking light. I decided to wear my light blue tunic that I wear under my brown-green one, and my brown light boots and leggings. I have been on scouting missions throughout my stay here and I am doting on the time I have to myself when I am not off on another objective in retrieving information of the whereabouts of Sauron's evil trails. I had spoken to Aragorn this morning concerning Elena before he left on another outing to speak to the Dunedain.

He seemed very concerned of her. Who wouldn't when someone shared with you that the person you are to train and protect on this journey is spewing up blood and has dizzy spells. I could see the worry and anguish in his eyes and expressions that he wishes that he could do something for her, but he is frustrated that he cannot. He only mentioned to me that she would need her rest in the meantime while he is away. I can only assume that he heard the news from either Lord Elrond or Gandalf about Elena's turmoil last night.

Continuing my way around this city, I come upon Lord Elrond and Gandalf and they had ceased their conversation as soon as their eyes turned to me. Not being rude, I walked towards them and I bowed. "Greetings Lord Elrond. Gandalf."

"Legolas, I understand from Gandalf that you had brought Elena to his quarters when she became ill. I would like to thank you for that even though I understand your prejudice against her." Lord Elrond slightly bowed with his head to me, though I do not understand why. "It did not inconvenience me at all. I believe that I have reached an understanding and an acceptance of her presence and of her current situation. I can only apologize that I have treated her so unjustly during our stay here." I lowered my head apologetically and I hear a scoff from Gandalf, and do I detect a hint of chuckling?

"Dear Mirkwood Prince. You have settled your score and owe her nothing more or less. Your assistance to her last night was all that she needed. She is only looking for acceptance. She knows all the peoples will fear her. She is from a distant world that none of us can ever comprehend unless we experience it for ourselves. She is full of wonder and oddity that even though I have spent all my time with her, I can't ever truly know what she is thinking." He lays a hand on my shoulder to give me a minor shake and puts it down. "Do not worry for her. Once we depart, you will not need to keep her from harm."

That is true. It will not be my responsibility to protect her, but to protect the Ringbearer on this journey.

"I understand. I am only required to protect the Ringbearer."

"You may go Legolas. I still have much to discuss with Mithrandir." I bow and I see them turn and leave. My curiosity had gotten the best of me.

"Out of curiosity, and forgive me if I am out of line, but, how is Elena fairing from her illness last night. I haven't seen her around the city." They halted their movements and turned around. I stepped closer to them and I didn't hide my mild concerned expression.

They looked at each other as if they were having a conversation and then they turned to me. Gandalf turned to me and shared a small smile. "She is doing well. She is peacefully resting in my quarters."

"And Arwen is with her helping her be comfortable." Lord Elrond mentioned. "Is there anything else you would like to know?"

Of course I have more questions. "Will she ever be free from this curse?" I see them both shift in their stances and Gandalf lightly coughed. "We don't know. This is the first time I have ever seen this in all my years and I would absolutely want to say that she will be free once the Ring is destroyed. That is my only hope."

"But that answer is not set in stone. This is not Sauron's energy, but that of his predecessor. She is not a child of Ilúvatar like the rest of us. We do not know if the Valar will want to help her, and perhaps, worst case scenario, will want to see her destroyed or to be put away into the Void where Morgoth resides. We ultimately do not know her fate and for my foresight is very dark and I cannot see what awaits her." Lord Elrond said in a somber voice as he rubs his forehead.

"Destroyed or set forth into the Void? But she is so- she'll die either way!" I had lost control of my voice and my composure stumbled upon hearing this news of possibilities.

"Keep your voice down!" We all looked around, hoping that no one had heard my little outburst. "That is the worst case scenario. We do not know for sure. There is no concrete answer until we finish our mission. There is no room for experimentation but to only keep going forward. She must come with us to see that through." Gandalf finished.

My eyes can only grow wide. This young girl, young woman I should say, has no idea what is in front of her.

She could either be at death's door or at the Void's…

"Is there nothing that we can do for her?" I whispered aloud.

"We must leave Rivendell soon, prepare her for battle, possibly find her friend, and destroy the Ring of Power."

Her friend? "She came to this world with a friend?" They only nod. I grow curiouser…

"Yes. She did. In their world, they were surrounded by darkness. From what Elena had said, she saw her friend, Layla, heading towards a white light, and sadly, Elena was surrounded by the Eye of Sauron. Once that happened, she came to me as sphere of fire and well, you remember the rest." I do. She appeared to Gandalf as a sphere of fire in the shape of Sauron's fiery eye, turned white, took her shape, and she was very injured and branded.

"Branded by one of the Dark Lords? Where and what are these brandings?" More questions about here are rising. I want to know more.

Lord Elrond spoke. "That's enough talk of this. We must be off. She is like an open book, Legolas. Why don't you ask her yourself."

Gandalf digs into his pocket and gives me another blue vile, another one like the one he handed me last night. "Just in case. Arwen and Frodo have one too if she has another sickly moment. It doesn't hurt to have one on your person." Then they take their leave.

So much information that I have taken in. I have learned more about Elena's possible fate, and it even fears me. It's also very sad, some so very young, not knowing anything in this world to suffer so much. I have lived for almost three thousand years, and I have only experienced external horrors of my father's kingdom succumbing to the darkness, the spiders arriving, and more orcs than ever, but to have something inside your very being, changing what you are, causing illness and suffering the weight of darkness, knowing that your body is belonging to someone else…

By the Valar, how do you survive that?

I then make way to Gandalf's quarters, making typical greetings to other elves whom I pass by. These are the ones who continue to give Elena the cold shoulder, and I do not blame them. They fear what is inside of her.

I approached the door and I can already hear voices… and laughter?

"Oh my God Arwen, seriously? He can't be that bad… come on now, he was raised with Elves. You would think more often he would do that." That's Elena's voice.

"I would have to yell at him at times to get him to take a bath once he comes home. The turmoil I go through so I can at least embrace him without scrunching my noise and holding my breath so I would try and not smell him!" Arwen's voice.

It sounds like they are having a good time chatting away. I decided to listen in more.

"Please, no matter where you go, a man is a man. They think they can do whatever they want." Elena seems to be giggling.

"And so do you Lady Elena. You think just because you are feeling better, you think should go on out and about."

"I can't help it I just get so bored of just being in bed all day. The potion Gandalf makes for me allows me to sleep so deeply, so once I wake up, I'm so refreshed. This time though, I do have a bit of a headache, so I will take it easy once it's gone. Just keep me company!" I hear her whine.

"Alright. Alright. I just don't want you to push yourself, but I do have to go see to a few things. I need to visit the seamstresses about making you your light traveling clothes and proper boots. It seems that since your body is becoming more fitting for the journey, we must tuck them in." She said that as if it congratulatory.

"Yeeessssssssss! Woo hoo! I never would have thought that would happen to me! That beautiful phrase… 'we must tuck them in'… I never would have lost weight back home. It's so hard." Why would it be difficult to have a balanced diet and physical activity in her world? And why would she worry about what her body looked like. She seems like the other elleths around here, just not a real elf. Though I do not pay too much attention to the elleths anyway.

"From all the stories you have told me, I can only imagine the horrors." I hear Arwen's giggle. "I will return once I am finished and we can have more of this 'girl talk', as you call it, tomorrow. I'll bring the wine."

"Aw yeah! Then we'll really grind our gears!"

"So I will see you then." I hear shuffling. I start to walk away from the door and hide behind a wall. "Alrighty then Arwen. Tell Sivela I said hi and thanks for making me my stuff." I look towards the door and I see her come out. I hide once again, knowing for a fact she did not see me, but I can now feel her presence adjacent to me, but behind me on the corner of the wall.

"I heard what you have done for her last night Legolas. I was just as surprised as she was when it was you who told her. After witnessing it all, do you finally understand what she is going through?"

I did not see her at all, but only leaned my back to the wall, let out a sigh, and looked straight ahead. "I do. I wanted to know how she is doing." I have a feeling she knew I was eavesdropping on their conversation, but she told me anyway. "She's doing well. She does have headaches from time to time in addition to dizzy spells, but she fights them off, wanting to do other things."

"That is a relieve. I'm happy to hear that she is doing better." I said. I genuinely meant it.

"Please, don't cause her anymore stress. I know the man Boromir still does, but he hasn't had a chance to see her like you did when you saw her last night. She is actually a very sweet girl, and quite humorous."

"And odd. Very odd." We shared a light laughter.

"Yes Legolas, I agree. If you would like to speak with her, I don't think she would mind. She is like an open book once you warm up to her." Her father said the same thing about her as well. At lease Elena doesn't seem so closed off, but when I first met her, she didn't want to share too much information about herself.

"I understand. Talking to her wouldn't do any harm. I'm not even on the same level as, Gimli. Even he has shared drinks with her." I scoffed. Dwarves and their drinks…

"I remember, I was there, and Elena can certainly hold her drink." Arwen let out a giggle. "Gimli and Elena almost fainted from the alcohol. They had so much, calling each other names, wanting to fight each other, it was so… refreshing and vexing. She is different when she is drunk."

Now I know she can drink like dwarf.

I started to feel serious and her laughter died down. "Arwen. Do you… do you ever feel the darkness in her? Perhaps, do you fear her at times?" I hear her sigh and she begins to talk again. "Yes and no. It is a difficult thing to feel, but I feel that somehow, even though she is not the child of the Ilúvatar, I believe she will be saved. I feel the heaviness in my heart, but nothing lethal. It's as if, the energy is only wanting to be acknowledged that it does exist inside her. She tells me that she feels the heavy feelings on her chest, and when it is the heaviest, that's when she starts to cough. It's as if the energy speaks to her mind, trying to convince her to take the form of an elf. None of us know, let alone Elena, if she will still be herself if she happens to accept this power. If she ever does, the more reason to keep her away from Sauron himself. She cannot be near Frodo for long due to him carrying the Ring of Power, because it being his predecessor's energy, it adds to her discomfort and fear that she may change into something else, but she takes the risk to being with her friend."

"How selfish. Risking the lives and this world just wanting to be with your friend." I do believe that it is selfish.

"Can you blame her? She's been alone with this burden, and so has Frodo, and they seek each other out because they are on this common ground all alone. Please Legolas. They need each other at this moment to share the burden, otherwise, the burden would consume them separately. Together, they can motivate one another to stay strong."

That's when I remembered Elena speaking with Frodo last night and sharing her song about not wanting to fade into darkness.

Another thing I come to understand now.

"I see."

"I must be off and see to the seamstresses. Do not hesitate to speak with her. Quickly now, before the hobbits get to her. They are quite protective of her since the council last month. Goodbye Legolas." I hear walk away. "Till next time Arwen." I replied.

I walk towards Gandalf's door again and before I knock, I hear her humming a somber slow tune, and then she begins to sings:

"Take my love, take my land

Take me where I cannot stand.

I don't care, I'm still free

You can't the sky from me

Take me out, to the Black

Tell'em I ain't coming back

Burn the land and boil the sea

You can't take the sky from me

Have no place I can be

Since I found Serenity

But you can't take the sky from me…"

Why would she sing those words? Those specific words sound so selfish. Where is this 'Black?' Burning the land? Boil the sea? What in the world could she mean that as long as she has the sky?

My curiosity grows more of her.

I knock on the door and I hear a gasp. "Yeah uh, come in!" I hear her clear her throat and I walk in.

I give her a questioning look and she gives one right back to me. "Legolas? Hi. What are you doing here?" She was standing next to the bed and she seemed to breathe a little more than normal. It's as if I almost caught her doing something she didn't want to show anybody. "Hello Elena. I wanted to see how you are fairing from last night's illness." I walk closer to her room and I stand opposite side of the bed, and once again, we have the bed in between us.

She fidgets a bit but then starts stretching her arms. "I'm better. Just a sore throat and a little headache, otherwise, my fever broke, and I'm pretty much there to refreshness… thanks for asking though and checking on me. How are you?"

Now it was my turn to shrug a little. I don't know what to say. I have many questions to ask of her, but I couldn't say one. I need to break this tension. "I'm well thank you. I was walking along in this area and decided to see you." I coughed. So much uncomfortable feelings in this room, I could probably pierce an arrow with it. She raises an eyebrow and smirks, "You wanted to see me huh?" Now she's getting cheeky…

"No! No! Not that I didn't want to see you. I just wanted to check on you. I brought you here to Gandalf's quarters myself of course your rescuer would want to see how you are doing. To know that my actions did not just go in vain."

She keeps her smirk and crosses her arms. "Uh-huh yeah sure. Keep telling yourself that, Lego. For your assurance, yes, I am fairing well. Thank you for last night."

"My name is Legolas." I hesitantly cross my arms and looked around the room. I have no idea why I am acting this way. This is so strange. I have to see her as a normal being.

She is normal.

She is not evil.

She is not a witch.

Alas! She is not normal. She is half mortal and immortal at the moment, but she is not evil.

She did not choose this life.

"I know I scare you. I know you're frustrated, slightly angry and scared." She says out of nowhere and sighs.

My arms come back to my side and I put on a guarded face. "I am neither of those things you speak of."

"You can't lie to me. The energy in me tells me so- uh- I just feel it I mean. I've been learning this new technique since I have been in Rivendell. I figured it out, or Gandalf helped me figured it out one night after I was done training. Because I contain negative dark energy, I can sense those feelings in others. Just like Frodo can with the Ring of Power. That's why it grows stronger when there are negative feelings around it. We both can feel it." Then stares into my eyes. "Listen, its okay if you don't want to deal with me. At least I know you tried to get along with me and that's what counts. Thank you." She smiles.

Then it reminded me of what Gandalf said: she is only looking for acceptance.

I shook my head and decided to change the subject. "What was the song you were singing about? It's almost frightening and selfish." She looked taken aback and blushed, but she huffed and shook her head. She understood me.

"It was a song to one of my favorite shows called Firefly. It was the short version of the theme song: The Ballad of Serenity." She walked over to a windowsill and sat on the wide ledge. Then I decided to move and sit on the bed and placed my elbows on my knees and let my hands dangle. I was interested in what she was going to say.

"The song itself to me, means freedom. You can strip away everything from a person, but never the sky because it is infinite. There is neither a beginning nor an end. That is the direction where I always look to when I feel like I am at a dead end. Life ends at death, but I believe, that's where I'll be once the time comes. Everything can happen on this land, but to the skies, nothing…" She drifted off and she looked to the skies and used her hand to block out the sun's rays.

"And what made you sing it today?"

"I dreamt of my death last night." My eyes widened. She said it so casually like it was any other dream. I couldn't say anything and she never took her eyes off of the sky. "I was in the sky, high above that light blue layer; I stared off into the black of space, of nothingness. I was with the stars that sparkle so bright and I floated… and I was at peace with a smile on my face and tears in my eyes, then it was all black." I shrugged my eyebrows. Such a death almost sounds peaceful and not of this world. "I even woke up a little teary eyed. Hella weird right?" She laughs lightly and turns to me. "Oh sorry. Was that too gloomy for you?"

I didn't understand what she meant at first until I realized I felt my body slightly tense, my hands clasped together and I relaxed my facial muscles. I straightened from where I sat. "Not gloomy as you say, but you say it so casually. This doesn't scare you?"

She shakes her head. "As the daughter of man, yeah of course. What's after death? But like, it is something that I have to accept as does everyone else. We go on knowing that our number will come up, so we have to make the best of it. Ahhhh I love that song so much." She laughs again. "The show is about that man has advanced their machinery so much, they can travel up to the nothingness beyond the sky called space, exploring the entirety of the universe, nicknamed "The Verse", going from world to world where two languages dominate… and I'm totally boring you… but yeah it was all just a dream!" She waved her hands frantically to stop her own topic of conversation. But I was very much interested in this story.

I have never thought about going past beyond the sky. What else could be out there? More worlds?

And there we were chatting away for what seemed like hours, telling me about this "show" … story called "Firefly", and other shows like it. It was fascinating. This entertainment and storylines existing in her world and thousands more. Then I come to learn about the real "science" of it all… no magic, enchantments, wizards, elves, hobbits, dwarves… wait, Gimli shouldn't know how the term dwarf is used a medical description of abnormality or cute little statues that belonged on lawns.

Men, normal men leaving legacies behind to help with making their world better for future generations. She also says that when things get easier, more problems arise as well. People are never satisfied and things get taken for granted.

"Extraordinary…" I want to learn more of this science. "I'm no whiz kid or anything, I'm completely average. I never did super well in learning, but I know enough to get by, and I'm always willing to learn something new. Hey if you ever drop by in my world, I'll show you around. Just be prepared to cough a lot. I don't think you'll do well in the main cities due to their smog."

"What is smog?" She rolls her eyes and smiles. "You are seriously like a little kid wanting to know everything right now. Because of all the machines that we use, it requires fuel that comes from deep below the ground, and when burned, it unleashes a kind of smoke that really doesn't… go away. It's the word smoke and fog combined. In the city where I'm from, you can see a grey layer hover over it."

"That is disgusting!"

"Yeah, I know, but what can you do. You get used to it." she shrugs her shoulders. She looks around the room and we notice that the stars have now risen.

"Oh man. We talked way too long. Sorry for keeping you from anything else you had planned today." She gets up from her ledge and stretches once more. I didn't even realize how much time really has passed. "No, my apologies. I should have let you rested more." I stand up and smooth out my tunic.

Then I hear little shuffles outside the door and four little figures rush in.

"Miss Elena! Gandalf said to bring you your dinner since you weren't feeling well today!" Samwise the Hobbit is holding a tray of food.

"We brought you some wine too. That always gives the fixins to any ache!" Pippin raised a small goblet.

"We also snuck in some sweet bread from the kitchens! Plenty to share!" I only counted five in Merry's hand…

"What are you doing here?!" Frodo… that's when everyone suddenly realized it. Sam puts the tray quickly on Gandalf's desk, same with the wine Pippin had, and Merry's sweet bread.

"Don't you dare harm her!" Pippin was the first to rush to Elena's side and put his fists.

"You'll have to answer to us, Master Elf!" Merry grabbed the chair that was by the desk and seemed threatening with it. Sam went in front of Elena and spread his arms out. Frodo walked towards me and looked straight up to my face. "You haven't answered my questions. What are you doing here?"

I was stunned. These hobbits do not care for her curse, not even the Ringbearer. "Please be at ease. I had only wished to make amends with her and make peace." I had put up my hands. Of course with everyone's skill level, they are no match for mine, but I must make peace now.

"It's true you guys. Don't worry about him anymore. He's finally understood." She came down to their level and the hobbits surrounded her. "Are you sure?"

"He hasn't pulled any magic strings on you has he?"

"Blink twice if he has!"

"Relax! I'm fine. Now, let's put that past behind us, and move on. I'm starved!" And just like that, no more threats, except maybe a small glare from Frodo and Merry, but that was all. Sam gave her the tray of food, Pippin her wine, Merry a whole sweet bread, and Frodo had to keep a small distance from her so as not to burden her with the energies of the Ring. They all sat on the floor and conversed as she ate and they ate the bread. She patted a space on the floor next to her.

"Dude, don't just stand there, have a seat. It's weird to have you just stand there while we're sitting down here." She waved me down. 'Dude?' a term of endearment I suppose…

And that's what I did. I took a seat next to her. She ate her dinner, shared her sweet bread with me, the hobbits ate as well, sang and danced and later she joined them. I watched it all from where I was sitting. I see her laughing and attempt to sing, but she isn't using her soft clear singing voice she shared with Frodo last night.

Humans and hobbits are remarkable. To temporarily cease their suffering, even if for mere moments to just be together with one another.

I grow curiouser and curiouser… about her.

Confound it. There's that heavy feeling my heart now. My breathing pattern is a tad bit heavier.

I stand from where I am and move a few feet away and she sees me in this action. Her smile is intact but her eyes share sadness. She slows down her movements and then stretches and pretends to yawn.

"Well my precious hobbits, I must call it a night for I feel rather fatigued!" She over dramatizes herself as if she is very hurt and places her hand on head. The hobbits whine, but accept.

"Alright. It is rather late, and we want to visit you again Miss Elena. May I have breakfast with you tomorrow?" Sam asked as he picked the food tray for her off from the floor.

"Don't forget us!" Merry.

"You'll need more good company!" Pippin. Those two seem to always have some spur of energy. They picked up the wine glass and any mess left behind.

"We'll see you tomorrow outside if you are well enough. I'll see if Bilbo will come as well." The Ringbearer had said. He and Elena had shared a smile and she ruffled his hair. "You bet." After a pause she says, "Screw it," and quickly embraces Frodo and he embracers her back and the rest of the hobbits follow suit. It was a very quick hug as we all know, of what happens when those two are together for too long. They broke the embrace and said their farewells.

I follow the hobbits to the door and Elena follows behind us. Once I reached the door, I stood still and Elena bumped into my back because of my sudden stop. I turned around once the hobbits were out of view from the door; it didn't take long.

"Hey. What gives?" She rubbed her nose and had pout smile, looking up at me with those eyes that I noticed are a dark brown. I shift in my posture.

Do I just say that even though you hold the darkest energy known in all of Arda, my home world, that I don't mind spending quality time with you like the others despite the fact I feel the heavy burden reaction on my chest…?

"Did you have a good time? Are you feeling alright?" Her face turned serious and with a worried look.

I sighed and gave her a slight smile. "I did. Let's do this again sometime while we still have some peaceful times before we embark."

She lets out a long breath and nods. "Sounds good, Lego." She leaned on the doorway. I shook my head and it was my turn to ruffle her hair a little. "Hey!" she tries to fix it.

"My name is Legolas. Remember that."

"I'll always remember your name, but since I have some nicknames such as 'Witch', 'Demon', oh did I mention 'Witch'? I figured you can use some as well." She smirked and crossed her arms.

I nod my head in defeat and in guilt. "I do apologize in how I treated you. I should not have portrayed my actions the way I had done in the past. In all honesty, it may have been out of fear, shock, and anger that Lord Elrond and Gandalf were keeping a being such as yourself here in Rivendell and then to actually send you with the Fellowship, journeying with the Ring of Power, you cannot blame me for feeling the way I did."

"Yeah, I get it. I'm the demon dark lord incarnate." She rolls her eyes. I should hurry and make her feel better. "But you have turned this around. You should not be shunned because of what you are cursed with. And you should not have others bring you negative feelings onto you. I for one, want to be your friend. I'd never had met someone quite like you."

She brings her hands behind and she fidgets in her stance. "Well, you have barely even seen, touched, or scratched the surface." She brings her hand to my face. I was taken aback by this gesture and then she squeezed my cheeks softly together and caused my lips to form that of a fish. I just stood there, letting her do this to my face.

"And you ain't seen nothing yet! Goodnight!" She bowed.

As did, humoring her. "Goodnight." Then she closed the door.

I shrugged my eyebrows and lightly shook my head to myself.

How peculiar indeed.


End file.
